| Emotional intelligence (EI) has been found to be positively related to occupational success and satisfaction, in the construction industry and elsewhere. Furthermore, research indicated that EI is the most important predictor of performance, predicting 58% of performance in the workplace. However, EI remains largely unexplored in construction project management, specifically in the improvement of project performance. The research problem addressed in this study was whether EI affects construction project success. The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to examine the relationship between the self-reported EI of project managers and the perceived success of construction projects in Florida. Seventy-four construction project managers from the state of Florida participated in this study and completed the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test and the Construction Project Success Survey. A regression analysis was conducted to determine if a significant relationship existed between participants' self-reported emotional intelligence of construction project managers and overall construction project success. Results revealed a significant relationship between the criterion variables (overall project success, cost, schedule, performance, safety, quality, and the operating environment) and the predictor variable (EI). For instance, for the overall project success variable, R = .536, R2 = .287, F (1,72) = 28.999, p < .001. That is, 28.7% (R2 = .287) of the variance observed in the criterion variable (overall project success) was due to participants' emotional intelligence scores. Similarly, the results of the regression analysis indicated that there was a significant relationship between the predictive variable EI and all the other criterion variables (cost, schedule, performance, safety, quality, and the operating environment). The final model from the seven analyses revealed a strong fit between EI and construction project success. Emotional Intelligence was found to have the greatest effect on project safety while operating environment and project performance was a close second and third, respectively. For executives leading construction organizations, the results showed that the emotional intelligence level of construction project managers could predict construction project success. Lastly, findings of this study will be practical for organizations when designing training programs for current employees and when developing hiring practices for new project managers. |
