Cultural Intelligence and Interpersonal Trust as Drivers for Innovative Work and Intellectual Capital Development at Organizations

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to determine how cultural intelligence and interpersonal trust impact innovative work behaviour and intellectual capital development in organizations. Research conducted by various authors shows that managers with higher levels of cultural intelligence have higher levels of interpersonal trust. As a result, they are more flexible in the adoption and creation of new ideas and solutions. Most of them are not afraid to share their knowledge and experience by accepting different opinions and creating an appropriate organizational culture. It enables an opportunity to strengthen all elements of intellectual capital and facilitates the competitiveness of the organization. Cultural intelligence and interpersonal trust create opportunities for innovative behaviour in organizations by developing intellectual capital. The scientific literature presents various studies about cultural intelligence and its impact on organizational performance. Most of the studies focused on the integration of migrants into the organizations’ work. Currently, the working environment is cross-cultural, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic and considering globalization and digitalization issues. Despite the various benefits of working in a multicultural environment, there are some significant challenges organizations face, such as interpersonal trust development and cultural intelligence. The current study focused on local employees at organizations: 93 managers of higher education institutions from Latvia were interviewed. The author used qualitative and quantitative research methods for data collection and analysis. Semistructured interviews were used for data collection. The research tool was developed on the basis of scientific literature using different statements about interpersonal trust, work engagement and level of cultural intelligence. One of the significant results found during research is that managers with international experience (working or studying abroad) are more critical of working in international teams and building interpersonal trust within cross-cultural teams. This fact could be the research object in future research. The research results can be used for future research exploring factors influencing cultural intelligence development in cross-cultural organizations and its role in innovation development and intellectual capital management.