Emotional intelligence in leadership: Its role in fostering employee engagement in Palestine’s ICT sector
-
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.22(1).2024.28
-
Article InfoVolume 22 2024, Issue #1, pp. 338-352
- Cited by
- 526 Views
-
115 Downloads
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This paper aims to explore the nexus between leadership emotional intelligence and employee engagement within Palestine’s information and communication technology sector. It seeks to fill a research gap by highlighting the impact of leaders’ emotional intelligence on fostering a committed workforce. The study used a quantitative approach and a descriptive research design. Its target population was 5,281 full-time employees in Palestine’s ICT sector, and 328 employees were sampled through probability multistage random sampling. The sample was split into groups based on job types and companies with more than 50 employees. The study’s findings corroborate the hypothesized positive effect, with statistical analysis revealing that emotional intelligence directly influences employee engagement levels within the ICT context (Beta = 0.302; P-value = 0.000). Although highlighted as a crucial element, emotional intelligence is designated as only part of a complex engagement equation that requires further investigation into additional contributing factors, such as different dimensions of emotional processing.
Acknowledgment
The authors express their gratitude to Gulf University for the significant financial resources that facilitated the publication of this work.
- Keywords
-
JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)D22, M14, M19
-
References61
-
Tables7
-
Figures2
-
- Figure 1. Conceptual framework
- Figure 2. Hypothesized link between employee engagement and emotional intelligence
-
- Table 1. Employee engagement items
- Table 2. Emotional intelligence items
- Table 3. KMO and Bartlett’s test for emotional intelligence construct
- Table 4. Reliability analysis for emotional intelligence components
- Table 5. KMO and Bartlett’s test for employee engagement construct
- Table 6. Reliability analysis for employee engagement components
- Table 7. Path analysis
-
- Al Marshoudi, F. B., Jamaluddin, Z., Aween, A. M. B., Al Balushi, F. I., & Mohammad, B. A. (2023). The mediating role of employee engagement in the relationship between leadership styles and organizational performance. International Journal of Management Thinking, 1(2), 34-55.
- Almadhoun, M. D. (2017). Investigating and criticizing software engineering practices in Palestine. Journal of Information Technology & Software Engineering, 7(3).
- Al-refaei, A. A.-A., Ali, H. B. M., Ateeq, A. A., & Alzoraiki, M. (2023). An integrated mediating and moderating model to improve service quality through job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Sustainability, 15(10), 7978.
- Amah, O. E. (2023). Examining leaders’ emotional intelligence as a distal antecedent of employee engagement: The role of employee voice and trust in direct leadership. Africa Journal of Management, 9(2), 117-133.
- Anas, R., & Lubbad, M. (2017). Information technology innovativeness: The roles of management supports, information technology readiness and government’s strategy in Palestine public sector. Universiti Utara Malaysia.
- Anuyahong, B., Pengnate, W., & Rattanapong, C. (2023). The relationship of executive’s leadership skills in 21st century towards staff’s work performance in Thailand. International Journal of Finance Economics and Business, 2(3), 205-217.
- Arif, S., Johnston, K. A., Lane, A., & Beatson, A. (2023). A strategic employee attribute scale: Mediating role of internal communication and employee engagement. Public Relations Review, 49(2), 102320.
- Awang, Z. H. (2010). Research methodology for business & social science. Pusat Penerbitan Universiti, Universiti Teknologi MARA.
- Babbie, E. R. (2016). The practice of social research. Cengage Learning.
- Barragan Martin, A. B., Pérez-Fuentes, M. del C., Molero Jurado, M. del M., Martos Martinez, A., Simon Marquez, M. del M., Sisto, M., & Gazquez Linares, J. J. (2021). Emotional intelligence and academic engagement in adolescents: The mediating role of self-esteem. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 2021(14), 307-316.
- Casteel, A., & Bridier, N. L. (2021). Describing populations and samples in doctoral student research. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 16(1), 339-362.
- Cheah, J. H., Amaro, S., & Roldán, J. L. (2023). Multigroup analysis of more than two groups in PLS-SEM: A review, illustration, and recommendations. Journal of Business Research, 156, 113539.
- Chopra, P. K., & Kanji, G. K. (2010). Emotional intelligence: A catalyst for inspirational leadership and management excellence. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 21(10), 971-1004.
- Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications.
- Dubey, D., & Rana, G. (2023). Employee engagement: A new paradigm shift for workforce. The Online Journal of Distance Education and e-Learning, 11(2).
- Egbaria, H. (2023). Emotional intelligence and its relationship to the career decision making difficulties among Israeli Palestinian high school students. European Journal of Social Sciences Studies, 8(6).
- Estrada, M., Monferrer, D., Rodríguez, A., & Moliner, M. Á. (2020). Does emotional intelligence influence academic performance? The role of compassion and engagement in education for sustainable development. Sustainability, 13(4), 1721.
- George, O. J., Okon, S. E., & Akaighe, G. (2022). Emotional intelligence and work engagement: A serial mediation model. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 9(2), 193-211.
- Geraci, A., Di Domenico, L., Inguglia, C., & D’Amico, A. (2023). Teachers’ emotional intelligence, burnout, work engagement, and self-efficacy during COVID-19 lockdown. Behavioral Sciences, 13(4), 296.
- Ghani, B., Hyder, S. I., Yoo, S., & Han, H. J. H. (2023). Does employee engagement promote innovation? The facilitators of innovative workplace behavior via mediation and moderation. Heliyon, 9(11), e21817.
- Gignac, G. E. (2008). Genos emotional intelligence inventory. Technical manual (2nd ed.). Genos Pty Ltd.
- Giménez-Espert, M. d. C., Castellano-Rioja, E., & Prado-Gascó, V. J. (2020). Empathy, emotional intelligence, and communication in nursing: The moderating effect of the organizational factors. Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 28, e3333.
- Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.
- Gong, Y., Wu, Y., Huang, P., Yan, X., & Luo, Z. (2020). Psychological empowerment and work engagement as mediating roles between trait emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 232.
- Guan, B., & Jepsen, D. M. (2024). Managing emotions in ongoing service relationships: New intrinsic and extrinsic emotion regulation strategies from aged care. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 35(1), 36-66.
- Habib, M., Naqi, S. M. A., & Ali, M. (2023). Emotional intelligence: Understanding, assessing, and cultivating the key to personal and professional success. Sir Syed Journal of Education & Social Research, 6(2), 50-55.
- Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis. Cengage Learning.
- Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). A meta-analysis of a business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268-279.
- Joseph, D. L., & Newman, D. A. (2010). Emotional intelligence: An integrative meta-analysis and cascading model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 54-78.
- Junça Silva, A., & Almeida, N. (2023). Can engagement and performance be improved through online training on emotional intelligence? A quasi-experimental approach. International Journal of Educational Management, 37(2), 449-464.
- Khan, M. A., Butt, R. A., Nawab, S., & Zubair, S. S. (2023). How does emotional intelligence influence self-efficacy among customer service representatives in Pakistan? Mediatory effects of emotional labour. South Asian Journal of Business Studies.
- Koutsioumpa, E. (2023). Development of emotional intelligence and leadership aspects applied in health professionals. A scoping review. Technium BioChemMed, 6, 22-36.
- Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607-610.
- Kumar, P. R., & Hetvi, K. (2023). A study on essence of employee engagement: An organisational perspective. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research, 13(4), 113-125.
- Levitats, Z., Vigoda-Gadot, E., & Vashdi, D. R. (2019). Engage them through emotions: Exploring the role of emotional intelligence in public sector engagement. Public Administration Review, 79(6), 841-852.
- Liu, J., & Cho, S. (2018). Interaction effect of display rules and emotional intelligence on hotel managers’ and non-managers’ work engagement. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(3), 1903-1919.
- Naz, S., Li, C., Khan, H. S. U. D., & Rafiq, M. (2019). The impact of emotional intelligence on employee performance and employee engagement: Mediating role of job satisfaction. Middle East Journal of Management, 6(5), 574-596.
- Negros, J. B. (2022). Factors that leverage the key drivers of creating a culture of employee engagement in the business process outsourcing company: A qualitative inquiry. Journal of Education, Management, and Development Studies, 2(1), 67-75.
- Paredes, Q. (2023). The perceived effective strategies for reducing voluntary employee turnover through improved employee engagement in property and casualty insurance. University of the Potomac.
- Parent, J. D., & Lovelace, K. J. (2018). Employee engagement, positive organizational culture and individual adaptability. On the Horizon, 26(3), 206-214.
- Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice. Wolters Kluwer Health.
- Pooja, J., & Krishnan, L. (2023). Employee engagement driven by AI and ML and mediated by progressive work practices – An IT industry perspective. Employment Relations Today, 2(8), 155-166.
- Pradhan, R. K., Jandu, K., Samal, J., & Patnaik, J. B. (2023). Does practicing spirituality at workplace make teachers more engaged? Examining the role of emotional intelligence. International Journal of Ethics and Systems, 39(4), 859-874.
- Prati, L. M., & Karriker, J. H. (2018). Acting and performing: Influences of manager emotional intelligence. Journal of Management Development, 37(1), 101-110.
- Ravichandran, K., Arasu, R., & Kumar, S. A. (2011). The impact of emotional intelligence on employee work engagement behavior: An empirical study. International Journal of Business and Management, 6(11).
- Saari, I. (2023). The role of empathy in developing internal communication at work: Company X. Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.
- Saha, S., Das, R., Lim, W. M., Kumar, S., Malik, A., & Chillakuri, B. (2023). Emotional intelligence and leadership: Insights for leading by feeling in the future of work. International Journal of Manpower, 44(4), 671-701.
- Sarangi, S., & Vats, A. (2015). Role of emotional intelligence on employee engagement: A study among Indian professionals. International Journal of Business and Management, 10(6).
- Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Work engagement scale. Preliminary manual. Utrecht University.
- Segers, S. K. (2023). The perceived quality of interpersonal communication and the role it plays in emotional intelligence and workplace engagement. Keiser University.
- Selvi, A. J. A., & Aiswarya, B. (2023). Examining the relationship between emotional intelligence and work engagement of automobile sector employees in Chennai. Rajagiri Management Journal, 17(2), 156-169.
- Shuck, B., & Wollard, K. (2010). Employee engagement and HRD: A seminal review of the foundations. Human Resource Development Review, 9(1), 89-110.
- Thor, S. (2013). MOOD righting. Quality Progress, 46(5), 34.
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). (2012). The Palestinian economy: Macroeconomic and trade policymaking under occupation.
- Veshne, N. A., & Munshi, M. M. (2020). Enhancing employee engagement through emotionally intelligent leaders. Srusti Management Review, 13(2), 32-39.
- Viterouli, M., Belias, D., Koustelios, A., & Tsigilis, N. (2022). Refining employees’ engagement by incorporating self-directedness in training and work environments. European Conference on Management Leadership and Governance, 18(1).
- Wang, X., & Shaheryar. (2020). Work-related flow: The development of a theoretical framework based on the high involvement HRM practices with mediating role of affective commitment and moderating effect of emotional intelligence. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 564444.
- Webb, K. S. (2013). How managers’ emotional intelligence impacts employees’ satisfaction and commitment: A structural equation model. SSRN Electronic Journal.
- Zeidner, M., Matthews, G., & Roberts, R. D. (2004). Emotional intelligence in the workplace: A critical review. Applied Psychology, 53(3), 371-399.
- Zhu, Y., Liu, C., Guo, B., Zhao, L., & Lou, F. (2015). The impact of emotional intelligence on work engagement of registered nurses: The mediating role of organizational justice. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 24(15-16), 2115-2124.
- Zuniga, T. (2023). The influence of engaging leadership on job crafting and work engagement. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.