Bridging Cultures in International Business

Preface

1. Introduction and definition of the problem field
1.1 Background and cause of the research
1.2 Objectives of the research
1.3 Design and execution of the research

2. Literature review on definitions and context
2.1 Defining a Western international assignee within the scope of this study
2.2 The definition of culture within the scope of this study
2.3 The conceptualization of competence within the scope of this study
2.4 Definition of intercultural competence within the context of this study
2.5 Scope and width of intercultural competence within the context of this study
2.6 The relevance of intercultural competence
2.7 The origins and persistence of cultural differences
2.8 The impact of culture on human interaction

3. Literature review of intercultural competence models
3.1 Literature search process
3.2 A framework for reviewing intercultural competence model
3.3 Component models of intercultural competence
3.4 Stage models of intercultural competence
3.5 Two-way models of intercultural competence
3.6 Conclusions of literature review on intercultural competence
3.7 Literature model of intercultural competence

4. Field research: a practitioner's model of intercultural competence
4.1 Research methodology
4.2 Selection of subjects and design of the qualitative survey research
4.3 Results of first round of qualitative survey research
4.4 Results of second round of qualitative survey research
4.5 Conclusions of field research and practitioner's model of intercultural competence

5. Conclusion and discussion of findings
5.1 A synthesized model of intercultural competence
5.2 Discussion on research questions and conceptual model
5.3 Implications for practice
5.4 Implications for theory

Summary
Nederlandse samenvatting (Summary in Dutch)

Appendix 1: Factors of intercultural competence derived from literature models
Appendix 2: Checklist for interviews in first round of field research
Appendix 3: Factors of intercultural competence from field expert interviews (round 1)
Appendix 4: Red flag factors from field expert interviews (round 1)
Appendix 5: Background factors mentioned by field experts (round 1)
Appendix 6: Checklist for interviews in second round of field research
Appendix 7: Inclusion of characteristics in model (round 2)
Appendix 8: Relative importance of characteristics in components (round 2)
Appendix 9: Red flags or disqualifiers, model inclusion and importance (round 2)
Appendix 10: Broadness of context (round 2)

Literature
Curriculum Vitae
Epilogue: 'The truth of the matter'