Enhancing knowledge sharing of host-country nationals in foreign subsidiaries: Does cultural intelligence matter?

The knowledge of host-country nationals who work in the foreign subsidiaries of multinationals is a crucial strategic resource for their employers. This study explored the role that cultural intelligence plays in employees’ knowledge sharing within a cross-cultural workplace context. Building on social identity theory, this study developed a theoretical framework to explore how host-country nationals’ cultural intelligence could enhance their knowledge sharing via increasing their social identity, and further investigated the mediating role of host-country nationals’ relationships with expatriates and identification with their organization. Using survey data from 412 host-country nationals working for 16 foreign subsidiaries in South Korea, I found that cultural intelligence directly predicted knowledge sharing. The results support and extend the extant literature and provide practical implications for multinationals regarding the management of host-country nationals.