Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Ownership: Entrepreneurial Behaviour of Employees in SMEs in Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to explore individual and work contextual factors that stimulate entrepreneurial behavior of employees in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study utilized the non-experimental face-to-face method of data collection and analysed 383 responses using SmartPLS (v 3.2.7). Since SMEs operate in small scale; thereby, we propose that this results in a proximal employee-employer relationship. This proximity induces psychological ownership in employees which results in increased entrepreneurial behavior. Results show a significant positive relationship between emotional intelligence and entrepreneurial behavior and perceived supportive context and entrepreneurial behavior. Additionally, the study found significant mediation of psychological ownership in the proposed relationship. Since the results support our theoretical framework, e.g., people high in emotional intelligence deliver exceptional outcomes than those with low emotional intelligence. Thus, the study proposes that employers should assess emotional intelligence of applicants in the recruitment process so that people with high emotional intelligence can be hired.