Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusions as per the PLS-SEM Analysis

This chapter checks if our current findings about cultural intelligence (CQ), knowledge dynamics (KD), organizational context (OC), and multicultural leadership (ML) and their correlations are consistent with past literature and suggests new directional ways. The theoretical basis depicts the current focused variable's relationship with ML. The core discussed hypothesis includes causative and mediational effects that will be presented in consecutive sections of this chapter.

The first hypothesized relationship is between KD and CQ. The current results support this hypothesis. A positive significant causal effect was found between KD and CQ. According to the cross-cultural competence model (Leiba-O'Sullivan, 1999), two competencies lead to CQ. In these competencies (cognitive and affective ones), dynamic competency had KD as the central core because it consistently affects CQ concerning individual differences. By combining knowledge and understanding with emotional awareness and adaptability, individuals with high CQ can navigate unfamiliar cultural situations, build relationships, and effectively communicate in diverse settings (Leiba-O'Sullivan, 1999; Peters et al., 1997). Similarly, literature assessing domains of KD reveals that it is strongly linked with the dynamics of CQ. Such as it strongly links with metacognitive CQ than motivational CQ of students and teachers (Alidoust & Homaei, 2012). Moreover, the literature takes social cognitive theory as a theoretical framework and highlights that KD directly affects metacognitive, cognitive, and motivational CQ. The reason behind this influence is team efficacy in a culturally diverse team. Having higher efficacy results in more knowledge sharing and a more complex KD. Seemingly, it further strengthens the CQ of multicultural teams (Chen & Lin, 2013). According to Earley and Ang (2003) and Thomas et al. (2008), it was considerably suggested that CQ needs internal competency and knowledge skills. It is all about excellence in attaining and explaining the dynamics of a multicultural environment. This internal competency results in an enhancement of a person's KD and CQ (Thomas et al., 2008).