Discriminating emotional intelligence‐based competencies of IT employees and salespeople

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims at investigating emotional intelligence based on competencies for sales and IT people.

Design/methodology/approach

A study was conducted on 111 employees of 12 firms from four different sectors in which firms benefited extensively from IT and sales activities.

Findings

Emotional Competency Inventory (ECI, 2.0) was used for assessing the participants' emotional competencies. Independent sample t‐test results showed that IT and sales employees were significantly different from each other in all main dimensions of ECI except for self‐management. Also two separate discriminant analyses were conducted in four dimensions of EI and all emotional competencies in order to determine the ones that discriminate two groups of employees. According to the results of the discriminant analysis in four dimensions of ECI, except self‐management, the other three dimensions had significant loads to discriminate all groups. However, on competency basis there was no dominant emotional competency that separated one group of employees from the other. The results showed that it was more meaningful to use clusters of competencies for constructing competency models of these two positions than to use single competencies.

Research limitations/implications

Further researches should investigate different positions rather than sales and IT people. Also researches focusing on specific sectors can reveal more specific competency models.

Practical implications

Facts of the study showed that companies should consider differences depending on the tasks for their staff while designing training programs in terms of developing EI‐based competency. These programs for sales or IT people should focus on competency clusters rather than specific single competencies.

Originality/value

Increasing importance of emotional intelligence and its direct relationship to superior performance lead organizations to enhance their current employees' emotional intelligence and to hire new ones with higher emotional intelligence. This paper contributes to HR and training specialists by providing them with knowledge about how to use emotional competencies effectively in their applications.

Citation

Yildirim, O. (2007), "Discriminating emotional intelligence‐based competencies of IT employees and salespeople", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 274-282. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590710746432