The impact of emotional intelligence on operational effectiveness: The mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior and leadership

PURPOSE: This article examines the influence of emotional intelligence on organizational citizenship behavior and transformational and transactional leadership, and the impact of these dimensions on operational effectiveness. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY: The analysis was based on 180 valid questionnaires from organizations in Colombia’s manufacturing sector of the Valle del Cauca region. The variables were analyzed using structural equation modeling to identify the relationships among the studied constructs. FINDINGS: The results suggest that emotional intelligence positively affects organizational citizenship behavior. Nevertheless, emotional intelligence does not impact transformational leadership and only partially affects transactional leadership and operational effectiveness. Emotional intelligence has a strong and positive impact on operational effectiveness when mediated by organizational citizenship behavior, which does have a strong and positive predictive power on operational effectiveness. Hence, in the search for competitive advantage, leaders should seek to improve operational effectiveness by focusing on developing emotional intelligence and organizational citizenship behaviour skills. Interestingly, of the two leadership styles examined in this study, only transactional leadership impacts operational effectiveness, which is inconsistent with the current literature and indicates a need for further leadership training. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The value of this paper lies in discerning the current capabilities and strategies that individuals in an organization must address for proper transactional and transformational leadership. However, before operational effectiveness and a sustainable competitive advantage can be achieved, the role of leaders should be managed through the appropriate application of the concepts of emotional intelligence and organizational leadership behavior.