Rethinking Cultural Intelligence as a Moderator: A Cross-Cultural Study of Overseas Employment Intentions Among Aspiring Sports Marketers

초록

This study utilizes the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine the determinants of overseas employment intentions (OEI) among aspiring sports marketers. It also probes how country image impacts the TPB's core constructs-attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC)-and tests whether cultural intelligence moderates these linkages. We fielded a quantitative survey of 354 Korea- and China-based students in sports management (and closely related programs). Structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was then used to estimate the hypothesized paths, and moderation tests assessed the role of cultural intelligence within the TPB framework. Country image significantly influenced attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC of sports marketers, affirming its significance as a primary precursor in employment-related decision-making. Furthermore, attitudes and subjective norms significantly impacted OEI, while PBC did not demonstrate a meaningful effect. Contrary to theoretical expectations, cultural intelligence did not moderate the effects of TPB variables on OEI. Although cultural intelligence is often theorized as a moderator in behavioral models, we found no evidence of such an effect within the TPB framework. This finding provides theoretical insights by challenging the assumption that cultural intelligence uniformly enhances behavioral predictors. The findings call for a context-sensitive reevaluation of cultural constructs, especially cultural intelligence, highlighting the importance of specifying when and where such constructs matter most in cross-cultural decision-making.

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