The relationship between cultural distance and expatriate burnout: The moderating effect of cultural intelligence

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between cultural distance and expatriate burnout and to reveal the moderating effect of cultural intelligence in this relationship. No study has been found to examine the relationship between cultural distance and expatriate burnout and the effect of cultural intelligence on this relationship. This study will fill this gap in the literature. Through questionnaires, data were collected from hotels, universities, and logistics, construction, architecture, aviation, and tourism companies in different parts of the world. Three hundred sixty-three questionnaires were analyzed. According to the findings of the study, as the distance between the native cultures of expatriates assigned to foreign missions and the culture of the host country increases, their level of burnout also increases. Moreover, it was identified that the effect of cultural distance on expatriate burnout is lower in expatriates with high cultural intelligence and vice versa in expatriates with low cultural intelligence.