| Universitas Psychologica | Colombia | V. 16 | No. 3 | 2017 | ISSN 1657-9267 |

a Correspondance autor. E-mail: julioc.acosta@uexternado.edu.co

How to cite: Acosta-Prado, J. C., & Zarate Torres, R. A. (2017). Emotional intelligence in latin american managers: An exploratory study. Universitas Psychologica, 16(3), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy16-3.eila

DOI: https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy16-3.eila

Emotional Intelligence in Latin AmericanManagers: An exploratory study*

Inteligencia Emocional in Gerentes Latinoamericanos: Un estudioexploratorio

Received: 29 May 2015 | Accepted: 19 February 2017

Julio César Acosta-Pradoa

Universidad Externado de Colombia, ColombiaORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7920-9602

Rodrigo Arturo Zarate TorresUniversidad EAN, Colombia

ABSTRACTBy means of an exploratory study with a sample of 614 managers, we established the characterization of emotional intelligence (EI) in Latin American managers from Guatemala, Chile, and Colombia. We analyzed the ability to perceive, appraise, and express emotion, both their own and those of others, as reflected in the concept of EI and its impact on the personal and professional achievements of Latin American managers. The results show that respondents have high capacity to assess and recognize their own emotions, low capacity to assess and understand the emotions of their team members, high capacity for self-control of their emotions in extreme moods, and high capacity to direct their emotions toward achieving competence.KeywordsCharacterization; emotional intelligence; Latin American managers; exploratory study

RESUMENMediante un estudio exploratorio aplicado a 614 gerentes de Guatemala, Chile y Colombia, se establece la caracterización de la inteligencia emocional (IE) de gerentes latinoamericanos, capacidad de percibir, valorar y expresar emociones, propias y ajenas, reflejada en el concepto de IE y su impacto en los logros personales y profesionales de los gerentes latinoamericanos. Los resultados muestran que los encuestados tienen una gran capacidad para evaluar y reconocer sus propias emociones, baja capacidad para evaluar y comprender las emociones de los miembros de su equipo de trabajo, alta capacidad de autocontrol de sus emociones en estados de ánimo extremos y alta capacidad para dirigir sus emociones hacia el logro de sus competencias.Palabras claveCaracterización; inteligencia emocional; gerentes latinoamericanos; estudio exploratorio

Introduction

The argument that emotional intelligence (EI) is equally ormore important than IQ in professional and business life

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(Cooper & Sawaf, 1997; Goleman, 1996) hascaused the issue to receive deeper analysis and,in the case of this research, has been related tothe interest in conducting studies to characterizethe EI in Latin American managers.

According to Cartwright and Pappas (2008),the American Society for Training andDevelopment mentions that four out of fivecompanies are trying to identify the EI ofemployees to increase sales, improve customerservice (Cavelzani, Lee, Locatelli, Monti, &Villamira, 2003), and ensure that their managershave performed well internationally. EI is stillunder study and has been found to have a directrelationship to job performance (Cartwright &Pappas, 2008).

Furthermore, EI has been linked to personaland professional performance of individuals.Anand and UdayaSuritan (2010) mention thatEI empowers managers with the ability to sensewhat others need and want, allowing them todevelop strategies to meet those needs anddesires.

The characterization of EI has not yet beenanalyzed in Latin American managers. Thisarticle fills that gap by assessing EI in LatinAmerican managers of various economic sectors,by applying the tool developed by Wong andLaw (2002) called Emotional Intelligence Scale.Therefore, the aim of the study has a doublecontribution at the academic level, first throughthe comparative study to measure and value theEI of Latin American managers based on theapplication of the Emotional Intelligence Scale ofWong and Law (2002) and, second, through theintent to characterize the EI in Latin Americanmanagers.

Theoretical Background

Salovey and Mayer (1990) defined the term EIas “a subset of social intelligence that involvesthe ability to monitor own and others’ feelings,distinguish and classify them, and use thisinformation to guide our emotions, thoughts,and actions” (p. 189). Furthermore, the authorsargued that while social intelligence involves,

among other things, the ability to monitormoods and temperaments in others, EI focusesspecifically on the recognition and use of our ownemotional states in order to solve our problemsand regulate our behavior.

Later Mayer and Salovey (1993) decidedthat EI is not a subset, but rather a typeof social intelligence, which also includesthe ability to monitor our own emotions, inaddition to the ability to monitor the emotionsof others. However, the authors noted thatthe above definitions seem vague because itconcerned only to perceive and regulate emotion,omitting thinking about feelings. Therefore, theyredefined EI as “the ability to perceive accurately,appraise, and express emotions; the ability toaccess and / or generate feelings when theyfacilitate thought; the ability to understandemotions and emotional knowledge; and theability to regulate emotions to promote emotionaland intellectual growth” (Mayer & Salovey, 1997,p. 10).

Based on the definition of EI from Saloveyand Mayer (1990), the term was popularizedby Goleman (1996) who linked it to theability to influence the success of people. Thus,the intellectual capacity is relegated to thebackground and begins to give importance tofactors related to the emotional level, such asempathy with others to achieve optimal socialrelations, knowing one’s own feelings, and notacting impulsively. Goleman (1996) also explainsthe implications of the concept of EI and presentsthe adaptation of a broader view of EI suggestedby Salovey and Mayer (1990), dividing it intofive main competences: a) knowledge of one’semotions; b) ability to control emotions; c) abilityto motivate oneself; d) recognition of others’emotions; and e) controlling relationships.

To reinforce the definition of the concept of EI,some authors (Cooper & Sawaf, 1997; Goleman,1996; Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Salovey & Mayer,1990) claim that the intelligence quotient (IQ),understood both as a degree of ability to perceiveand interpret their own emotions, and benefitusing the emotions of others, as well as theability to understand and manage one’s emotions,involves only 20 % of the factors that determine

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the success (Goleman, 1996). The remaining 80% corresponds to the factors that are related towhat is called EI.

However, despite the efforts made by Mayerand Salovey (1997) to define the term based onthe capabilities of EI, there was confusion aboutthe meaning of this theoretical construct. Theinclusion of variables that are not capabilities forthe construction of the EI may have affected theirscientific rigor as a different construct (Schultea,Ree, & Carrettab, 2004). Davies, Stankov, andRoberts (1998) point out that the measuresrelated to EI are the same used in studies ofpersonality. Based on these relationships, andhaving made several exploratory factor analyzes,the authors concluded that the EI construct wasweak. Therefore, Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso(2000, p. 398) defined EI as “the ability to processemotional information accurately and efficiently,including the ability to perceive, assimilate,understand, and regulate emotions”.

This new theoretical approach presents EI asan ability of the person that links emotions andreasoning. It has to use emotions to facilitatemore effective reasoning. In particular, Mayeret al. (2000) consider that EI is related to theability to perceive accurately, with validity andemotional speed, the feelings emanating from thethoughts.

In the last decade, there have been manycontributions on EI as a result of its application inempirical studies that analyze the diverse natureunderlying specific variables. One focus of thestudies is to show the relationship between EIand job performance. In this regard, Jordan,Ashkanasy, Härtel, and Hooper (2002) identifyassociations of WEIP (Workgroup EmotionalIntelligence Profile) with performance measuredas goal orientation and process efficiency.Law, Wong, and Song (2004) determinedthat EI predicts task performance in theworkplace. Lastly, Livingstone, Nadjiwon-Foster,and Smithers (2002) relate EI to personal andgroup development of individuals. Therefore,it is considered of special interest to analyzethe characterization of EI in Latin Americanmanagers.

EI and Management Role

Research on business management, suggests arelative neglect of the role played by emotionsin everyday business life, as this is moreattributed to a human relations perspective(Ashforth & Humphrey, 1995). This emotionalpart can certainly alter the rational aspect of theorganization. Argyris (1985) called it “the greatparadox of business conduct” (p. 51) where therational functions to the tasks can be affected byemotional barriers.

In this sense, managers directly affect theemotional climate in a business. Recent researchshows that 65 % to 75 % of employees believethat the worst aspect of their job is theirimmediate boss. This fact is related more to theundesirable qualities of their managers ratherthan to the lack of desirable qualities or thepersonality defects of managers (Hogan & Kaiser,2005). Leslie and Van Velsor (1996) argue thatsome of the emotions that identify unsuccessfulmanagers are coldness and arrogance, poorinterpersonal skills, frequent betrayal of the trustof others, and finding it difficult to work withothers. Butler and Chinowsky (2006), in a studyconducted in a construction company, identifiedthe weaknesses of EI also corresponded to thecomponents of the area of interpersonal skills,lacking empathy, weak relationships, and poorsocial responsability.

Schwartz (1990) shows the usefulness of EI inmanagement, since managers who know how torecognize and manage their own emotions, andcan determine if the emotion is associated withopportunities or decision problems, use thoseemotions for decision making. Furthermore,Gardner and Stough (2002) argue that managerswith high EI are able to articulate a vision,provide encouragement and sense to employees,stimulate the expression of new ideas, new waysof doing things, and to intervene on problemsbefore they become serious.

Also, Fisher, and Ashkanasy (2000) andGoonan and Stoltz (2004) argue that includedin the range of causes that produce certainemotions in the workplace is also the behavior

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of leaders, including the characteristics of thetasks performed and the level of performanceand feedback processes. In addition, possibleconsequences of these emotions experienced are:job satisfaction, willingness to change, stress, andhealth.

However, it is common to find that managershave the mistaken assumption that theycan manage and lead the organization, andmove employees regardless of their emotionalaspects (Ashkanasy & Rush, 2004). Employeesconstantly perceive how their managers expressand manage their emotions, and if they respondappropriately to the emotions of their employees;managers being able to understand the emotionsof their teams become a key aspect for employeesto share their emotions (Smollan & Parry, 2011).This situation is evident when the emotionsof managers are contagions to employees andthey reproduce the same emotions (Sanchez-Burks & Huy, 2009). This effect has a biologicalexplanation, through mirror neurons (Rizzolatti& Craighero, 2004) that reproduce the emotionsof managers in their colleagues (Goleman &Boyatzis, 2008). In the words of Fullan (2001), EI,successful social relations, and managing changewill be the responsibility of future generations ofmanagers.

Therefore, the instrument used in thisresearch is the Emotional Intelligence Scaledeveloped by Wong and Law (2002). Theinstrument has been validated by differentauthors including Aslan and Erkus (2008). Theyconclude that it may be used in the areasof management, leadership and organizationalbehavior.

Based on the above arguments, the theoreticalfoundations and previous studies on EI inmanagers, there is a general consensus on EIas the ability of individuals to manage emotionsand, in turn, includes four factors or variablesthat better explain the performance of themanagers (Acosta-Prado, Zárate, & Pautt, 2015;Goleman, 1996; Law, Wong & Song, 2004;Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2000; Salovey &Mayer, 1990; Wong, Wong, & Law, 2007).

Variables

Self-awareness. Rating and expression of self-emotions: refers to the ability of each person tounderstand their deepest emotions and expressthem naturally. People, who have great skillin this area, feel and raise awareness of self-emotions long before most people.

Empathy. Rating and recognition of emotionsin others: refers to the ability of individuals toperceive and understand the emotions of peoplearound them. People who have this ability toa high degree are much more sensitive to thefeelings and emotions of others, and also of‘reading’ their minds.

Self-regulation. Regulating emotions: refers tothe ability of people to regulate their emotions,which empowers them to recover more quicklyfrom mood swings and anxiety.

Self-motivation. Using emotions to facilitateperformance: refers to the ability of individualsto use their own emotions to route them towardsconstructive activities and personal performance.A person with great skill in this area remainspositive most of the time, using their emotionsin the best way to facilitate both high work andpersonal performance.

Despite the references in the literature, thereis no consensus on the size of the EI or theprocesses needed for efficient development in aleadership role. This study seeks to advance theseissues; more specifically, characterizing EI inLatin American managers, through the variablesof self-awareness, empathy, self-regulation, andself-motivation.

Methodology

To achieve the research objective, theexploratory study was conducted in a sample ofLatin American managers. These managers aresuitable for exploratory test for several reasons.Managers must have at least one subordinatein charge, should work in companies in varioussectors, and the sample was delimited to LatinAmerican managers from Guatemala, Chile, andColombia.

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The study is exploratory and focuses onLatin American managers who share similardemographic characteristics such as age,education level, and gender. As mentioned, theaim of the study is double, first through acorrelational study we intend to characterize ingeneral terms the EI in Latin American managersthrough the application of the EmotionalIntelligence Scale of Wong and Law (2002)and, second, through a cluster study betweencountries to measure, value and characterize theEI of Latin American managers based on thedemographic variables: country, age, gender, andeducation level.

Management data were obtained fromsecondary sources such as databases of chambersof commerce, business directories available onthe Internet, and publications of Guatemala,Chile, and Colombia during the 2012-2014period. Managers completed the questionnairein person. The questionnaire identified theindustry, which was categorized as: banking andfinance, hospitality and tourism, biosciences andchemistry, environment and renewable energy,new materials and engineering, informationtechnology, and services. Table 1 shows anoverview of the questionnaire.

TABLE 1Technical details of the questionnaire

Source: own work.

Measurement and analysis

Demographics of managers (identification andcontrol variables) as the variables of EI identifiedabove from the Emotional Intelligence Scale(Wong & Law, 2002) were considered in the

questionnaire. To operationalize the type of datascale, a 7-point Likert, participants answeredagree or disagree to the affirmation presentedin each question from 1 (strongly disagree) to7 (strongly agree) grouping variables to measurethe factors of EI representing concepts.

Recording and data validation was done withSPSS. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA)based on principal components analysis wasperformed. The objective was to simplify thedata, summarizing the information contained ina number of observed variables from Likert typeinto fewer measures called factors, which did nothave a hypothesis about their number nor theirstructure.

The EFA studies all possibilities to finallyselect the most likely, according to the datacollected (Uriel & Aldás, 2005). It also ensuresthe unidimensionality, reliability, convergence,and discriminant validity thereof.

As mentioned, there has been an EFA from thetechnique of principal components and rotationQuartimax iterated. Before it was calculated,the coefficient alpha reliability and contrast ofCronbach for the 16 observed variables measuredwith a Likert scale of 7 points, used in thequestionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha) yielded a valueof 0.847. Therefore, the scale is reliable and thereis intercorrelation between the variables of thescale (Cronbach, 1951; Thiétart et al., 2003).The measure of sampling adequacy Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin is 0.842, which means that the ratiobetween the variables is high. Bartlett’s test (χ2= 3551.319, df = 120 and p = 0.000) rejectsthe null hypothesis of no significant correlationbetween the observed variables. In conclusion, itis appropriate to apply the analysis of principalcomponents to the variables.

Subsequently, a cluster analysis was performed,the main purpose of which is to group subjectsbased on the characteristics they possess,classifying subjects so that each one is very similarto the ones in the cluster with respect to somepredetermined selection criteria. The resultingclusters should show a high degree of internalhomogeneity and high external heterogeneity(Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2010).

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The theoretical value of the cluster analysis isthe set of variables representing characteristicsused to compare objects in this analysis, since thetheoretical value of the cluster analysis includesonly the variables used to compare objects thatdetermine the character of the objects (Johnson,1998).

Once the variables were selected, the clusteranalysis was performed following the approachof using a combination of hierarchical methods:in the first stage of the partition, the methodused is from Ward, in order to establish thenumber of clusters and centroids, corroboratingthe result with the farthest neighbor method.The Ward method was chosen to minimizeinternal differences of each cluster and avoidthe problems of inadequate initial chainingcombinations, which the nearest neighbormethod has (Hair et al., 2010).

Results

Four consistent factors were identified: Self-Awareness, Empathy, Self-Regulation, and Self-Motivation. The first factor, Self-Awareness,was measured by the following variables: clarityabout why certain feelings exist, understandingown emotions, understanding own feelings, andpersonal analysis about being happy or not.The second factor, Empathy, was measuredthrough the variables: understanding friends’emotions, observing others’ emotions, sensitivityto others’ emotions and feelings, and a wellunderstanding of emotions of those around. Thethird factor, Self-Regulation, was measured withthe variables: capacity of control of temperand rational management of emotions, abilityto control emotions, keeping calm in angersituations, and control of own emotions. Thefourth factor, Self-Motivation, was measuredthrough the variables: setting and achievingobjectives, mentalization of competent person,self-motivation, and personal motivation to giveone’s best.

The EFA has been made with the principalcomponents method. In applying this method,the decision rule allowed for the retention of

a significant number of common factors, thosewith an eigenvalue greater than 1. Moreover, thematrix of coefficients of correlation was used forgrouping variables. Together with the principalcomponents method, in order to interpret theretained factors clearly, the method orthogonalrotation process was used through the normalizedQuartimax method. The extraction yields a resultof four factors retained (with eigenvalue greaterthan 1). The four factors explain 61.077 % of thetotal variance of the observed variables.

Then, we proceeded to compare and re-specify, through a confirmatory factor analysis(CFA), the above four factors. To do this,performing a second sequence in the factoranalysis to overcome the limitations of theprincipal components method was consideredappropriate and thus carried out as to be ableto contrast and refine new extracted factors.The intent is to strengthen the dimensionality ofthe factors, the reliability of each as well as theconvergent and discriminant validity. Once theCFA and corresponding re-specifications weremade, the following four factors were identified,Self-Awareness, Empathy, Self-Regulation, andSelf-Motivation. Table 2 shows the CFA results.

TABLE 2Observed variables and results from factors

Source: own work

The four factors obtained demonstratesignificant results. With regard to internalconsistency, Cronbach’s alpha is calculated withthe final variables in each factor. For factor 1Cronbach’s alpha has a value of 0.86; factor2 of 0.764; factor 3 of 0.730; and factor 4 of0.731. According to the literature, the factor 1shows good internal consistency and the factors

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2, 3, and 4 acceptable. Therefore, we concludethat there is convergent validity, reliability,and internal consistency of both the scale andgrouped factors.

Note that in the exploratory and confirmatorysequence of factor analysis, it was found that thevariables of EI, Self-Awareness, Empathy, Self-Regulation, and Self-Motivation identified inLatin American managers are developed as jointprocesses that favor the efficient managementof managers and more understanding of boththe business context and relationships withemployees.

Moreover, the application of cluster analysisallowed grouping and comparing betweenthe three countries (Guatemala, Chile, andColombia), as table 3 shows. The method chosenwas K-means, where it first extracted 3 groups,with the following results.

TABLE 3Distances between centers of final clusters

Source: own work

Of the 3 groups, the most distant clusters are1 and 2 followed by 1 and 3. To confirm thenumber of groups, an Anova analysis was done,as table 4 shows. This indicates what variablescontribute more to the solution of the clusters.Thus, variables with large values of F providegreater separation between the clusters. Thevariable that provides greater separation betweenclusters is ’Ability to control emotions’ with F =271.570. The least separation is, ‘Mentalizationof competent person’, with F = 38.043.

TABLE 4ANOVA

Source: own work

The F tests should be used only for descriptivepurposes because the clusters have been chosento maximize the differences among cases in thedistinct clusters. Critical levels are not fixed,so it cannot be interpreted as evidence for thehypothesis that the cluster centers are equal.

Finally, we proceeded to check the number ofcases in each cluster, as table 5 shows. Taking thefirst group 295 cases, the second group 45 cases,and the third group 274.

TABLE 5Number of cases in each cluster

Source: own work

Finally, contingency analyses of the clusterswere performed by the demographic variables ofthe study: country, age, gender, and educationlevel. Table 6 shows that, regarding the variable’country’, results show that most respondents arefrom Colombia and belong to cluster 3, whilethe majority of respondents from Guatemalaand Chile belong to cluster 1. Cluster 2 (low

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capacity of EI), is mostly from Colombia becausethe highest proportion of respondents are fromColombia. Most other respondents in cluster 2are from Guatemala.

TABLE 6Cluster Contingency Analysis by Country

Source: own work

Regarding the variable ’age’, results showthat there is no clear pattern between clustermembership and age. Therefore, the proportionof respondents over 21 years old in cluster2 is low. Also in cluster 2 respondents whoare younger than 20 years old were identified.Importantly, this cluster has a low level ofemotional intelligence.

Table 7 shows that, the ratio in cluster 1 is high,over 21-61 years-old or more, this conglomeratehas a high capacity of EI. Similarly, cluster 3shows a high proportion, at age 26 to 45 years old.

TABLE 7Cluster Contingency Analysis by Age

Source: own work

The contingency of the clusters and thevariable ’gender’ analysis shows that the majorityof respondents who have high emotionalintelligence capabilities are women, as table 8

shows. Many men also have high capacity but notas much EI as women.

TABLE 8Cluster Contingency Analysis by Gender

Source: own work

Finally, the contingency analysis of clustersand the variable ’level of education’ in cluster1 show high values at the secondary level andmean values in levels: incomplete college, collegedegree, and graduate. In cluster 2, lower values are observed in the levels: incomplete college,university, and postgraduate. Finally, cluster 3shows mean values in levels: incomplete college,college degree, and graduate. As seen in table 9,cluster 1 has the best values in terms of levels ofeducation and marked therefore high capacity ofEI of Latin American managers.

TABLE 9Cluster Contingency Analysis by Level ofEducation

Source: own work

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Findings

Among the key findings, we found that thedimensions of EI (self-awareness, empathy, self-regulation, and self-motivation), identified inLatin American managers, were developedas a joint process that favors the efficientmanagement of the managers and a greaterunderstanding of both the business context andinterpersonal relationships of collaborators.

The results of the exploratory study supportthe characterization of EI in Latin Americanmanager. The results highlight the importanceof the variables of EI (self-awareness, empathy,self-regulation, and self-motivation) identifiedbecause they favor the efficient managementof both management and labor, understandingthe context and relationships of collaborators.The establishment of a climate of openness andwelfare, where they share experiences, ideas, andknowledge, and at the same time, an overallperception of the company is equally important.

Final considerations

The results of the exploratory study showrelevant information on the characterization ofEI in Latin American managers. As variousstudies have shown, EI affects professionalachievements (Goleman, 1996) and professionalachievements usually happen at work, ahighly emotional environment (Wong & Law,2002). These assumptions were crucial bothto characterize the profile of Latin Americanmanagers and their capabilities in relation to thevariables of EI (Self-Awareness, Empathy, Self-Regulation, and Self-Motivation). The researchvariables allow for the valuing of the abilities ofmanagers to understand and recognize their ownemotions and their team members’ by applyingthe Emotional Intelligence Scale of Wong andLaw (2002) composed of 16 7-point Likertvariables, assessed in a sample of 614 managersfrom Guatemala, Chile, and Colombia. Resultsof the statistical analysis show that there is apositive relationship between the variables of EI

(Self-Awareness, Empathy, Self-Regulation, andSelf-Motivation) in Latin American managers.

For the analysis of demographic variables,results show that individuals grouped in cluster1, have a high capacity for EI. This situationis repeated in the same cluster for the variable‘age’, as more homogeneous values are observedbetween the ages of 21 to 60 years. In this regard,it should be mentioned that individuals aged 21to 25 years, exercise levels of management innew ventures or companies in technology sectors,the opposite is true for individuals aged 60 yearsand older who exercise management levels incompanies consolidated mature sectors, mainlyservices, and banking and finance.

Finally, the variable ‘education level’ revealsthat in cluster 1, individuals who possess alllevels (high school, unfinished college, completecollege, and graduate) have higher values compared to clusters 2 and 3. However, whilecluster 1 shows the highest percentages, itexposes the low levels of education of LatinAmerican managers. It is worth mentioning thatthis variable measures the level of education ofmanagers and not the way they develop theirskills and abilities in the performance of themanagement role.

For the variable ’gender’, although highervalues have no distance between them, there aremore women in cluster 1 which, as mentioned,indicates these individuals have high capacityand EI; conversely, the higher percentage ofmen are grouped in cluster 3, that exhibits lowcapacity EI.

The main implications of the study aretheoretical and practical. Theoretically, aconceptual framework is exposed related to EIand Latin American managers, rarely discussedin literature, which has guided and supportedthe objective of this research. On a practicallevel, contributions are presented, based onthe proposed characterization and its graphicalrepresentation, as a proven model that helpscompany managers, especially those who work indynamic environments, to understand how theinfluence of the variables of EI (Self-Awareness,Empathy, Self-Regulation, and Self-Motivation)identified in Latin American managers are

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developed as a joint process that favors theefficient management of both, understandingcontext and relationships of team members.

Acknowledgements

This paper is the result of a research titled“Characterization of Emotional Intelligencein Latin American Managers”, conducted bythe Externado University of Colombia andUniversity EAN, 2012-2014.

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Notes

* Research article.