The focus of this exploratory study was to measure whether or
not service industry employees with higher levels of
intercultural sensitivity would provide their foreign
customers with a higher level of service. The research
setting was four- and five-diamond hotels located in the state
of Florida with reputations for attracting foreign guests
(American Automobile Association, 2001). The research
participants were food servers working in the fine-dining
restaurants of those hotels.
effect of intercultural sensitivity on employee performance in
cross-cultural service encounters. If the relationship between
employee performance and intercultural sensitivity was
found to be positive and significant, it could justify an
investment in testing and training service employees who are
involved in cross-cultural encounters.