Transformations  in
Business & Economics

The Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Project Outcomes
Vida Skudiene, Vilte Auruskeviciene, James Reardon, Olga Stangej

ABSTRACT. The main goal of this study is to examine emotional intelligence competencies and Project Outcomes in business companies. In addition, we examine this in a cross-national context that adds external validity to the findings. The research method involved the web questionnaire survey with collected data from 363 respondents coming from Lithuania, Poland and the United States. Across the pooled sample, Functional Success was highly correlated to Emotional Intelligence components of Self Awareness, Emotional Resilience, Intuitiveness, Motivation and Contentiousness but not related to Influence, or Interpersonal Sensitivity. However, these tended to be differential across countries. Several major implications are evident from these results. First, successful managerial styles are differential across countries. Thus a successful manager in one area may be less successful elsewhere. Second, within each country/culture there are characteristics that can be identified that typically led to a more successful project outcome. We find that there are rather unique components that lead to success in different paths. Interestingly, motivation of the manager led to very limited success – and then only at a basic functional level (e.g., the project was done on time and at budget).

KEYWORDS: emotional intelligence, project management, leadership, cross-cultural competencies, USA, Poland, Lithuania.

JEL classification: M12, P2.