Individual And Combined Effects Of Behavior Modeling And The Cultural Assimilator In Cross-Cultural Management-Training

This field experiment examined the individual and combined effects of behavior modeling and the cultural assimilator in the cross-cultural management training of 65 US, Government employees. Training evaluation criteria of learning, behavior, and reactions were used, and the results were generally supportive of the greater effectiveness of a combined approach. Participants receiving the combination of methods displayed significantly higher performance on a role play task (behavior evaluation) than a no-training control group and significantly higher gains in learning than those receiving either individual method and those in a no-training control group. Moreover, despite its longer time and effort, the combined approach was viewed as favorably by participants as each individual method. These results suggest the need for both a cognitive- and experiential-based program in cross-cultural management training.