Title: Cultural intelligence, cultural distance and export performance of the firm

Authors: Valeria Giovannini; Niels G. Noorderhaven; Andrea Prencipe

Addresses: Luiss Guido Carli University, Rome, Italy ' Department of Management, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands ' Department of Business and Management, Luiss University, Rome, Italy

Abstract: Research in international business has tended to focus on macro-level factors, such as the cultural distance between home country and host country in explaining success in international activities like export. But micro-level factors, operating at the firm or individual level, may also affect export success. This study focuses on the cultural intelligence of managers. Based on survey data from Italian SMEs we find that the cultural intelligence of export managers is positively related to the export performance of their firms. We also find that this effect is stronger if the cultural distance between home and host countries is larger. Our study has implications for theory on export performance and the effects of cultural intelligence on international business.

Keywords: SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; culture; export; cultural intelligence.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2026.152250

European Journal of International Management, 2026 Vol.28 No.4, pp.676 - 701

Received: 23 Jun 2020
Accepted: 02 Jan 2021
Published online: 13 Mar 2026 *

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