As previously mentioned, having employees with CQ is useful given the changing realities of the workplace. However, the ability to function successfully in a cross‐cultural setting becomes even more important for expatriates. Although more specific definitions exist, an expatriate is operationalized for this research as anyone who is living and working in a foreign country. If CQ is a person's ability to function in a cultural diverse setting, and expatriates by definition have to work in different cultures, then CQ should be related to the success of a person in an expatriate assignment. If CQ's hypothesized connection to expatriate success is combined with the results of two meta‐analyses (Bhaska‐Shrinivas et al., 2005; Mol et al., 2005) reveling expatriate success is associated with language proficiency and adjustment, then a model can be developed for assessing CQ in an expatriate context. Therefore, this study examines the relationships between CQ, local language proficiency, and outcomes related to expatriate success. This study is organized as follows, Section 1 defines and operationalizes CQ and the results of research investigating CQ are summarized. Next, research on language proficiency and cross‐cultural outcomes is summarized. Finally, outcome variables hypothesized to be associated with expatriate success and their relationships to CQ and language proficiency are discussed.