The Impact of Cultural Intelligence on Job Performance (Case Study: Incoming Tour Leaders in Tehran)

Introduction In tourism industry, self-interactivity and also all that interacts with other cultures during all stages of the journey or travel is inevitable, so the phenomenon of cultural intelligence is essential in facilitating interactions of tourists with the host community. Tour guides play an important role in such interactions, so given the importance of cultural performance of incoming tour guides inputs and important component of cultural intelligence in effective interactions, this research analyzes the impact of cultural intelligence of incoming tour guides on their job performance. In this study, we try to search these assumptions are discussed in the following analysis:The main hypothesis: Cultural intelligence affects the job performance of incoming tour guides.
Sub assumptions:1) Cognitive cultural intelligence has effect on job performance of incoming tour guides.
2) Metacognitive cultural intelligence has effect on job performance of incoming tour guides.
3) Motivational cultural intelligence has effect on job performance of incoming tour guides.
4) Behavioral cultural intelligence has effect on job performance of incoming tour guides.
Materials and Methods The statistical society of this research includes the incoming tour guides of Tehran and foreign tourists. To estimate the required sample size of the society used available sampling and Cochran method. Due to the lack of access to incoming tour guides, 70 questionnaires were collected and to each guide was 4 tourists whose number were equal to 280 people. The questionnaire included two types which were cultural intelligence and job performance. Standard questionnaire of cultural intelligence (that has 4 domains and 20 items) has completed by cultural-historical incoming tour guides of Tehran in the five options Likert. Stability of cultural intelligence questionnaire is 0.803. Researcher questionnaire has two individual and specialized features aspects. Tourists ranked the job performance of their guides according to these features, in a Likert 5 options. The reliability of the job performance questionnaire with 0.926 number was confirmed. To describe the demographic variables, used descriptive statistics. For the analysis of research dada used correlation coefficient, confirmatory factor analysis and partial least squares method.
Discussion and Results The results of the analysis of the data shows, according to the coefficient of 0.690 and t-statistics on the amount of 12.607 at the level of 99% significant, cultural intelligence has a positive impact on incoming tour guides job performance. Given that the t-statistic is greater than 1.96, the main research hypothesis is confirmed. The main result of the hypothesis shows that when the cultural intelligence incoming tour guides score is higher, that will has better job performance. As well as aspects of cultural intelligence (cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, behavioral) in the 99% confidence level has a significant positive impact on job performance of tour guides. So all the hypotheses of this study are confirmed. According to the results cognitive cultural intelligence has greatest impact on performance of tour guides and cultural behavior has less impact on performance of tour guides.
Conclusions To consider the findings of this study can be said that cultural intelligence of incoming tour guides can affect their job performance. Cultural intelligence is the ability to understand the cultural understanding an improving their functions of incoming tour guides. To promote the tour guides conducting cultural intelligence, simulation and role-playing method can be used. This method is very useful, especially for new incoming tour guides. Tour guides with a high level of intelligence, attention and energy required to cross-cultural situations in the tourism industry. Cognitive dimension of cultural intelligence increase the ability to maintain cultural values of tourists and tour guides. Strong tour guides in the meta-cultural intelligence, can modify their assumptions about other cultures and has consciously and ultimately better performance in dealing with tourists and providing services to them.