ROLES OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN DETERMINING WORKPLACE ADVICE NETWORK CENTRALITY: BETWEENNESS AND CORENESS

Roles of emotional intelligence (EI) are explored in determining the centrality of actors in a workplace advice network (WAN) using two measures: betweenness and coreness. Data were collected from 329 respondents in 15 different service-sector organizations using a self-administered questionnaire with three sections: demographic, socio-metric and Wong and Law's (2002) scale for EI (WLEIS). The data validity and reliability were tested through factor analyses and Cronbachs alpha. Results indicated that EI significantly determined both betweenness and coreness centrality of actors in WAN. The analyses of the individual branches of EI including self-emotional appraisal (SEA), others' emotional appraisal (OEA), use of emotions (UOE) and the regulation (ROE) further disclosed that EI defined the structural centrality more than the operational or functional one in WANs. Furthermore, the social aspect of EI, as proposed by Goleman (1995), was more effective in influencing the WAN centrality than the personal intellect. Disciplinary: Management Sciences (Human Resources Management), Psychological Sciences. (C) 2020 INT TRANS J ENG MANAG SCI TECH.