Critical Dimensions of EQ among Malay Women Entrepreneur in Malaysia

Abstract

This paper highlights the dimensions of emotional quotients (EQ) of Malay women entrepreneurs who own either micro enterprises or small and medium size enterprises in Klang Valley, Malaysia. EQ comprise of five dimensions which are social skills, self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, and empathy. About 1000 questionnaires were distributed around Klang Valley, Malaysia, with a 20% response rate. Out of 200, only 169 questionnaires were able to be used for the analysis of this study. The findings show that the most important dimension of EQ during economic crisis was self-regulation followed by self-motivation, empathy, social skills, and self-awareness. After the economic crisis, the most important dimension was self-awareness followed by social skills, self-motivation, self-regulation, and empathy. Hence, emotional quotients are important for Malay women entrepreneurs during the economic crisis to remain positive and endure business challenges in managing their business operations for business sustainability. The findings also highlighted that after the economic crisis, the focus was more towards facing business challenges from employees, customers, and other stakeholders due to increasing demand in products/services and business activities. To conclude, all the elements of each dimension were considered important for Malay women entrepreneurs during and after the economic crisis.