The association between emotional intelligence and entrepreneurship as a career choice: A study on university students in South Africa

Orientation: To examine the effects of emotional intelligence on the development of entrepreneurial intentions of university students. Research purpose: To determine whether emotional intelligence is a crucial antecedent of entrepreneurial intention to encourage entrepreneurial behaviour. Motivation of the study: By identifying all the factors that encourage entrepreneurial behaviour, policymakers and concerned stakeholders are better equipped to improve such behaviour and guarantee its success, thereby alleviating unemployment more effectively. Research design, approach and method: A positivist paradigm was used and a quantitative design used self-administered questionnaires to assess the respondents’ emotional intelligence and their intentions to start businesses. Multiple regressions and correlations were computed to test the hypotheses. Main findings: The findings revealed that there is a direct association between emotional intelligence and entrepreneurial intention, with the strongest association recorded between regulation of emotion and entrepreneurial intention and the least significant association between use of emotion and entrepreneurial intention. Practical implications: Although entrepreneurship education is important, it needs to be restructured to incorporate the practical aspects. Furthermore, educators should create a learning environment that could encourage the effective expression and use of emotions to nurture emotional intelligence. Contribution: This article is of particular value to policymakers and educators looking for ways to improve entrepreneurial effectiveness and implementation as well as scholars contemplating entrepreneurship as a career option