Effect of Cultural Intelligence on Employee Performance in Cross-Cultural Teams Within Multinational Chinese Companies: The Role of Employees' Perception of Inclusiveness, Knowledge Sharing, and Employee Innovative Behavior

Introduction: With the rapid rise of economy of China, Chinese multinational corporations have gradually gained significant advantages in global market competition. Cross-cultural teams play a crucial role in addressing global challenges and maintaining high market share. However, such teams often face three major challenges: internal communication barriers, differences in work styles among employees with diverse cultural backgrounds, and leadership decision-making disagreements caused by cultural diversity. These issues may have a negative impact on the overall performance of the enterprise. Objectives: This study aims to explore how cultural intelligence mediates employees' perceptions of inclusiveness, knowledge sharing , and innovative behavior, ultimately affecting their work performance. The ultimate goal is to provide theoretical basis and practical recommendations for cross-cultural teams in Chinese multinational corporations to address these challenges. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted to randomly select a sample of 500 employees from Chinese multinational corporations. A total of 407 valid questionnaires were collected, and data analysis was conducted based on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results: The research findings indicate that: (1) cultural intelligence has a significant positive impact on employees' perception of inclusiveness, knowledge sharing , and innovation behavior; (2) The employees' perception of inclusiveness, knowledge sharing , and innovative behavior also show a significant positive impact on work performance; (3) The above three mediating variables play a chain mediating role between cultural intelligence and work performance. Conclusions: Employees with higher cultural intelligence are more likely to perceive team inclusivity, actively participate in knowledge exchange and practice innovative behaviors, thereby improving overall work performance. It is recommended that enterprises systematically optimize the effectiveness of cross-cultural team management by strengthening cultural intelligence training, building an inclusive team atmosphere, and incentive mechanisms.