Skip to content
Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter June 29, 2013

The Benefits of Emotional Intelligence and Empathy to Entrepreneurship

  • Ronald H. Humphrey EMAIL logo

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on emotional intelligence/competencies and relates it to entrepreneurship. Emotional intelligence/competencies are positively related to job performance, leadership, and physical and mental health. This paper also reviews the research on another emotion-related trait, empathy. Empathy is related to leadership emergence and effectiveness, and empathic leaders have followers who experience less stress and physical symptoms. This paper generates nine propositions that relate emotional intelligence/competencies and empathy to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs high on emotional intelligence/competencies will (1) be more emotionally resilient when facing obstacles, (2) be more successful at handling intense emotions when working with family members, and (3) they will work more effectively with their employees, customers, and other stakeholders and they will be rated higher on leadership by their employees. High emotional intelligence will give entrepreneurs (4) an advantage in developing new products and services, and (5) in negotiating with financial backers, vendors and suppliers, distributors and retailers, and with their employees. Entrepreneurs high on empathy will be more successful at (6) motivating and leading their employees, and (7) helping their employees cope with workplace stresses. They will be (8) more attuned to their customers’ wants and have higher customer satisfaction, and (9) be more innovative.

References

Ashkanasy, N. M., and C. S. Daus. 2005. “Rumors of the Death of Emotional Intelligence in Organizational Behavior Are Vastly Exaggerated.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 26:441–52.10.1002/job.320Search in Google Scholar

Bar-On, R. 2002. Bar-On Emotional Quotient Short Form (EQ-i:Short): Technical Manual. Toronto, CA: Multi-Health Systems.10.1037/t03760-000Search in Google Scholar

Bar-On, R. 2006. “The Bar-On Model of Emotional-Social Intelligence (ESI).” Psicothema 18:13–25.Search in Google Scholar

Baron, R. A. 2008. “The Role of Affect in the Entrepreneurial Process.” Academy of Management Review 33(2):328–40.10.5465/amr.2008.31193166Search in Google Scholar

Boyatzis, R. E., and D. Goleman. 2002. The Emotional Competency Inventory. Boston, MA: The Hay Group.Search in Google Scholar

Cardon, M. S., M. Foo, D. Shepherd, and J. Wiklund. 2012. “Exploring the Heart: Entrepreneurial Emotion Is a Hot Topic.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 36(1):1–10.10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00501.xSearch in Google Scholar

Danes, S. M. 2011. “Pillow Talk Leaks: Integrating Couple Interactions into Entrepreneurship Research.” Entrepreneurship Research Journal 1(3):1–5.10.2202/2157-5665.1040Search in Google Scholar

Elfenbein, H. A., M. D. Foo, J. White, H. H. Tan, and V. C. Aik. 2007. “Reading Your Counterpart: The Benefit of Emotion Recognition Accuracy for Effectiveness in Negotiation.” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 31:205–23.10.1007/s10919-007-0033-7Search in Google Scholar

Goleman, D., and R. Boyatzis. 2008. “Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership.” Harvard Business Review 86:74–81.Search in Google Scholar

Humphrey, R. H. 2013. Effective Leadership: Theory, Cases, and Applications. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.10.4135/9781544308524Search in Google Scholar

Humphrey, R. H., and B. E. Ashforth. 2000. “Buyer-Supplier Alliances in the Automobile Industry: How Exit-Voice Strategies Influence Interpersonal Relationships.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 21:713–30.10.1002/1099-1379(200009)21:6<713::AID-JOB54>3.0.CO;2-FSearch in Google Scholar

Jordan, P. J., N. M. Ashkanasy, C. E. J. Hartel, and G. S. Hooper. 2002. “Workgroup Emotional Intelligence: Scale Development and Relationship to Team Process Effectiveness and Goal Focus.” Human Resource Management Review 12:195–214.10.1016/S1053-4822(02)00046-3Search in Google Scholar

Kellett, J. B., R. H. Humphrey, and R. G. Sleeth. 2002. “Empathy and Complex Task Performance: Two Routes to Leadership.” The Leadership Quarterly 13:523–44.10.1016/S1048-9843(02)00142-XSearch in Google Scholar

Kellett, J. B., R. H. Humphrey, and R. G. Sleeth. 2006. “Empathy and the Emergence of Task and Relations Leaders.” The Leadership Quarterly 17:146–62.10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.12.003Search in Google Scholar

Mahsud, R., G. Yukl, and G. Prussia. 2010. “Leader Empathy, Ethical Leadership, and Relations-Oriented Behaviors as Antecedents of Leader–Member Exchange Quality.” Journal of Managerial Psychology 25:561–77.10.1108/02683941011056932Search in Google Scholar

Mayer, J. D., P. Salovey, and D. R. Caruso. 2002. Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) User’s Manual. Toronto, ON: Multi-Health Systems.Search in Google Scholar

Mayer, J. D., P. Salovey, D. R. Caruso, and G. Sitarenous. 2003. “Measuring Emotional Intelligence with the MSCEIT V2.0.” Emotion 3:97–105.10.1037/1528-3542.3.1.97Search in Google Scholar

O’Boyle, E., R. H. Humphrey, J. M. Pollack, T. H. Hawver, and P. Story. 2011. “The Relation Between Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 32:788–818.10.1002/job.714Search in Google Scholar

Sadri, G., T. J. Weber, and W. A. Gentry. 2011. “Empathic Emotion and Leadership Performance: An Empirical Analysis Across 38 Countries.” The Leadership Quarterly 22:818–830.10.1016/j.leaqua.2011.07.005Search in Google Scholar

Salovey, P., and J. D. Mayer. 1990. Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality 9:185–211.10.2190/DUGG-P24E-52WK-6CDGSearch in Google Scholar

Schutte, N. S., J. M. Malouff, E. B. Thorsteinsson, N. Bhullar, and S. E. Rooke. 2007. “A Meta-Analytic Investigation of the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Health.” Personality and Individual Differences 42:921–33.10.1016/j.paid.2006.09.003Search in Google Scholar

Scott, B. A., J. A. Colquitt, E. L. Paddock, and T. A. Judge. 2010. “A Daily Investigation of the Role of Manager Empathy on Employee Well-Being.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 113:127–40.10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.08.001Search in Google Scholar

Walter, F., M. S. Cole, and R. H. Humphrey. 2011. “Leadership and Emotional Intelligence: Past Findings, Current Criticisms, and Future Directions. Emotional Intelligence: Sine Qua Non of Leadership or Folderol?” The Academy of Management Perspectives 25:45–59.Search in Google Scholar

Wright, M., and S. Zahra. 2011. “The Other Side of Paradise: Examining the Dark Side of Entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship Research Journal 1(3):1–5.10.2202/2157-5665.1043Search in Google Scholar

Zachary, R. K., and C. S. Mishra. 2010. “Entrepreneurship Research Today and Beyond: Hidden in Plain Sight!” Journal of Small Business Management 48(4):471–4.10.1111/j.1540-627X.2010.00304.xSearch in Google Scholar

Zárraga, C., and J. Bonache. 2005. “The Impact of Team Atmosphere on Knowledge Outcomes in Self-Managed Teams.” Organization Studies 26:661–81.10.1177/0170840605051820Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2013-06-29

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin / Boston

Downloaded on 19.3.2024 from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/erj-2013-0057/html
Scroll to top button