  One of the challenges for international companies is to manage multicultural
environments effectively. Cultural intelligence (CQ) is a soft skill required
of the leaders of organizations working in cross-cultural contexts to be able
to communicate effectively in such environments. On the other hand,
organizational structure plays an active role in developing and promoting such
skills in an organization. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the
effect of leader CQ on organizational performance mediated by organizational
structure. To achieve the objective of this research, first, conceptual models
and hypotheses of this research were formed based on the literature. Then, a
quantitative empirical research design using a questionnaire, as a tool for
data collection, and structural equation modeling, as a tool for data analysis,
was employed among executives of knowledge-based companies in the Science and
Technology Park, Bushehr, Iran. The results disclosed that leader CQ directly
and indirectly (i.e., through the organizational structure) has a positive and
significant effect on organizational performance. In other words, in
organizations that operate in a multicultural environment, the higher the level
of leader CQ, the higher the performance of that organization. Accordingly,
such companies are encouraged to invest in improving the cultural intelligence
of their leaders to improve their performance in cross-cultural environments,
and to design appropriate organizational structures for the development of
their intellectual capital.

General Economics;Economics