The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire: A multidimensional instrumentof multicultural effectiveness

In today's global business environment, executive work is becoming more int ernational in orientation. Several skills and traits may underlie executive success in an inter national environment. The Multicultural Personality Qu estionnaire was developed as a multidimensional instrument aimed at measuri ng multicultural effectiveness. The questionnaire has scales for Cultural E mpathy, Openmindedness, Emotional Stability, Orientation to Action, Adventu rousness/Curiosity, Flexibility, and Extraversion. In a study among a stude nt sample (N = 257) the reliability and validity of the inventory were exam ined The internal consistencies of the developed scales were high, with the exception of Openmindedness and Flexibility. On the basis of factor analys is and the pattern of intercorrelations four reliable higher-level dimensio ns were distinguished: 'Openness', 'Emotional Stability','Social Initiative ', and 'Flexibility'. The correlations between these dimensions find relate d instruments were in the expected direction. Moreover, the data supported the predictive value of the instrument of multicultural activity and its in cremental value above the Big Five in predicting international or orientati on and aspiration of an international career. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire may be used as an instrument for the selection of expatriate s or as re diagnostic tool for assessing further training needs. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.