The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Environmental Scanning Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Study

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationships of emotional intelligence of supervisors-empathy and social skills-to the effectiveness of their environmental scanning behavior. Data was collected from 1,184 dyads in four countries (U.S., Bangladesh, Greece, and China). Employed MBA students completed a questionnaire about their supervisors' emotional intelligence and a colleague of the MBA student, who worked for the same supervisor, completed a questionnaire about the effectiveness of the supervisors' environmental scanning behavior. Results show that empathy was a full mediator of the relationship between social skills and the effectiveness of scanning in the U.S., Bangladesh, and Greece but a partial mediator in China. Findings suggest in individualistic and moderately collectivist cultures empathy fully mediates the relationship between social skills and environmental…