Intercultural intolerance, misunderstandings, and ethnocentric sentiments prevail in multicultural societies. Education institutions are the flagbearers of a pluralist society and contribute to the economic and social development of a country. Cultural diversity provides interaction opportunities, reduces prejudices, and enhances global citizenry and unity. Educators, as transformation and change agents, instill these values and skills in the younger generation. Investigating the experiences of educators in a multicultural context is pertinent, especially because these individuals share a larger goal of social integration. This study uses structural equation modelling to investigate the factors that influence multicultural identities, intercultural competencies, well-being, and performance from the perspective of the social identity integration framework's cognitive-developmental model. Multistage sampling via self-administered survey method involved 288 educators from Malaysian universities. The findings confirmed that both the exogenous constructs (multicultural identity and intercultural communication competence) are relevant predictive factors to assess well-being and performance. The significance of the study adds to the body of knowledge by providing practical implications related to predictors of multicultural team performance. The study appears to be the first to combine multicultural identity, intercultural communication competence, and well-being factors in predicting performance. It also contributes to the existing knowledge and arguments to necessitate cultural awareness, training, and coaching programs for employees to contend with the cultural mix and complications of organisations. Moreover, the variables and instruments used in this study can be replicated in any multiracial organisation or institution. The findings can be used to ensure a balanced distribution of multiethnic academics in educational institutions.

Authors:
Kavitha Balakrishnan, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Ajitha Angusamy, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Madhubala Bava Harji, Segi University, Malaysia

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Kavitha Balakrishnan is a Deputy Dean of Research at the Faculty of Applied Communication, Multimedia University. She holds a PhD in management with a research focus on multicultural and intercultural communication.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kavitha-balakrishnan-40556abb

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