Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Prati, L Melita
URN	etd-08202004-181758
Title	Emotional Intelligence as a Facilitator of the Emotional Labor Process
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Management, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Gerald R. Ferris Committee Co-Chair Pam Perrewe Committee Co-Chair Ceasar Douglas Committee Member Larry Giunipero Committee Member Robert Brymer Committee Member Wayne Hochwarter Committee Member
Keywords	Organizational Commitment Job Satisfaction Performance Customer Service Strain Non-Acting Emotional Intelligence Emotional Labor Emotion Surface Acting Deep Acting Turnover Physical Strain Psychological Strain
Date of Defense	2004-08-18
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Beginning as an area of popular and business press interest, emotional intelligence is fast becoming a legitimate area of research for organizational science theorists. The many potential benefits of emotional intelligence have yet to be evaluated within the realm of legitimate academic research, and there are many areas of organizational concern that may be beneficially influenced by this empowering attribute. Emotional labor is one such area, and it has grown as a legitimate concern for organizational participants involved in the practice of using their emotions for organizational purposes. Furthermore, it is a concern for the organizations these individuals serve. The purpose of this dissertation is to review and analyze the literature on emotional intelligence and emotional labor and to discover how emotional intelligence moderates relationships within the emotional labor process. It is hypothesized that this investigation will reveal evidence supporting the general hypothesis that emotionally intelligent organizational members enjoy more effective participation in the emotional labor process, and that emotional intelligence, as a moderator, will alleviate detrimental individual and organizational outcomes of this process. Data were collected using questionnaires. The questionnaires were distributed to 29 stores of an 87 year-old retail chain with over 200 stores centralized in the Southeastern United States. A sample of 210 usable employee responses having matching supervisor evaluations was obtained from these efforts. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses. Results were found to support a number of the hypotheses set forth, including affirmative findings for the moderating influence of emotional intelligence on the relationship between various emotional labor performance efforts and outcomes of the emotional labor process. In addition, further analyses of unsupported hypotheses revealed direct main effects of emotional intelligence on some outcomes. A discussion of the results includes an evaluation of research limitations, practical limitations, and directions for future research.
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