Author(s): Jung-Yong Lee, Kee-Sung Lee, Chang-Hyun Jin
The purpose of this study was to investigate the components of emotional intelligence in service employees and also to analyze how emotional intelligence affects the development of a company’s services marketing capability. Organizational culture is selected as a moderating variable because it is considered a significant factor related to how service employees demonstrate emotional intelligence. The survey was administered in three major Chinese major cities—Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou—where many service companies are located, with employees hired from local populations (n=800). In our analysis of the relationship between emotional intelligence in service employees and services marketing capabilities, emotional intelligence positively affected price development, product development, channel development, and communication development capabilities, the main components of services marketing capabilities. This in turn shapes emotional intelligence, which can play a substantial role in developing services marketing capabilities. In service employees, the use of emotion, as a component of emotional intelligence, consists of a sense of purpose, activity, and degree of effort backed by self-confidence. Emotional intelligence, when combined with enhanced use of emotion, can have significant effects on the components of services marketing capabilities, including price competitiveness, service product development, service channel development with suppliers and customers, service company and brand image establishment, and execution ability.