The development of emotional intelligence (EI) conceptual model for construction project management

The construction industry in Malaysia has proliferated in the past three decades. However, the cost and time overrun rates in construction projects have never decreased. Previous literature has proven that project managers are important figures in construction project management, and this study looked at the influence of emotional intelligence in project managers on the success of construction projects. In this context, emotional intelligence is defined as an individual’s ability to recognise their own emotions, distinguish between different feelings, use dynamic information to guide thoughts and behaviours, and adapt emotions to the environment. The Goleman emotional intelligence model was chosen as the basis of this research because it is simpler and has been refined over the years, making it more popular among renowned corporations globally. This qualitative research conducted two rounds of data collection. The initial round of data collection distributed the Genos EI questionnaire to 141 project managers via snowball sampling and then for primary data collection, interviewed 10 project managers based on the first-round survey results to gain insights on the theoretical elements of emotional intelligence practised in project management. The results of the study, analysed using Nvivo11, found little difference with the current theory of emotional intelligence. Of the 18 elements in the Goleman model, 16 were acceptable to respondents with some modifications. This study found out that the emotional intelligence of the project manager is an essential factor that should be considered in reducing excessive time in project management, and the element in the original model has differences from the finding of this study. It is therefore worthy of a newly developed emotional intelligence model specifically for use in construction project management. This will help business owners, policymakers and governments plan their strategies to improve construction project management, successfully