The Contributing Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence in Entrepreneurial Innovation and Creativity

The Contributing Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence in Entrepreneurial Innovation and Creativity

World Journal of Management

Vol. 5. No. 2. , September 2014, Pages: 66 – 77

The Contributing Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence in Entrepreneurial Innovation and Creativity

Susan Tee Suan Chin, Kavitha Raman, Jian Ai Yeow and Uchenna C. Eze

Interest shown on entrepreneurs has been increasing for many years. Researchers are keen to know the behavior and characteristics of successful entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to determine the contributing roles of Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Intelligence in terms of entrepreneurial innovation and creativity. The study used both quantitative and qualitative approach. A total of 88 entrepreneurs took part in the study which span over a period of 1 year. It was found that successful entrepreneurs had strong levels of “Emotions Direct Cognition” and “Understanding Others Emotions”. In terms of the level of “Spiritual Intelligence”, successful entrepreneurs had high strong connections with many of the elements which included “Discernment”, “Egolessness”, “Freedom”, “Higherself”, “Intuition”, “Joy”, “Practice”, “Purpose” and “Relatedness”. These components are important in creativity and innovation.

Field of Research: Management, Entrepreneurship

Key Words: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Development, Successful Entrepreneurs, Emotional Intelligence, Spiritual Intelligence

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.21102/wjm.2014.09.52.06