Emotional intelligence and public relations: An empirical review

Abstract

Since the 1990s, the concept of emotional intelligence has garnered growing popular and scholarly attention in the past several decades. Emotional intelligence is generally defined as one’s ability to recognize one’s own emotions, regulate them, recognize others’ emotions, and manage social relationships and is proposed to yield various desirable outcomes for organizations. This study provides a critical and comprehensive review of empirical studies on the role of emotional intelligence in various domains of public relations practice. Findings reveal that existing research has focused mostly on emotional intelligence as a competency vital to effective leadership and employee communication in organizations. Considerable research has also examined emotional intelligence as a necessity for effective crisis management and communication. This study calls for investigating the role of emotional intelligence in different areas of public relations such as media relations and community relations, for improved measurement and methodological pluralism in future research, for EI-based training for future public relations leaders, and for an EI model of professionalism in public relations education.