Motivational configurations of cultural intelligence, social integration, and performance in global virtual teams

Global virtual teams (GVTs), electronically connected workgroups of geographically dispersed team members in multinational settings, may suffer from less social integration. However, they may also benefit from an increased ability to process information due to a richer portfolio of ideas and problem-solving approaches that the team's diversity provides. We propose that the cultural intelligence (CQ) of team members contributes positively to social integration in GVTs and improves performance. Using data from 263 GVTs, we utilized both structural equation modeling and necessary condition analyses to explore the associations between motivational CQ and a team's social integration and performance. The results identified the must-have (bottlenecks) and should-have (drivers) levels of motivational CQ among team members in GVTs. We contribute to the CQ and GVT literature by linking variation in the team's CQ levels (team average, lowest, highest, and leader CQ) to its social integration and performance.