Impact of construction project managers’ emotional intelligence on project success

Abstract

Numerous authors are persistent in investigating the competency profile of the ideal construction project manager in order to decrease the failure rate of construction projects. There is evidence for the change in construction project management, from traditional practices to practices more focused on people and working relationships. The literature demonstrates a positive correlation between project manager’s Emotional intelligence and project success but less is written about the mechanisms that interfere with that relationship. Furthermore, project manager’s relationships with stakeholders are recognized as an important determinant of project success in the construction industry. Considering the above facts, this study was motivated to examine how the construction project manager’s emotional intelligence influences project success, and whether the relations with internal and external stakeholders interfere as mediators in that relationship. In the conducted research, 110 project managers participated. The results demonstrate that the emotional intelligence of construction project managers significantly influences the project success and that internal and external stakeholder relationships play an important role as mediators among them. Moreover, it is found that some components of EI have more significant influence on stakeholder relationships and project success and that internal and external relationships in different amounts affect components of project success.