Emotional intelligence as an antecedent of employees’ job outcomes through knowledge sharing in IT-ITeS firms

Purpose - Job performance literature has evolved to address the aspects of performance thinking where knowledge sharing (KS) and emotions on the job are considered important. This study evaluates the influence of emotional intelligence (EI), mediated through KS, on job outcomes measured as job performance (JP) and job satisfaction (JS). Design/methodology/approach - Structural equation modeling methods are used to investigate the degree of influence of EI on job outcomes through KS. The data for analysis has been collected from 227 project managers at Information Technology-Information Technology Enabled Services (IT-ITeS) firms. Findings - The findings suggest that the EI has a positive and significant effect on KS. This implies that employees with high EI scores are more involved in the KS behavior. Furthermore, the findings suggest that KS partially mediates the relationship between EI and JP, and it fully mediates the relationship between EI and JS. Research limitations/implications - For KS, the answer lies in the recruitment and retention of emotionally intelligent persons rather than investing only in information technology. The study enhances the literature on knowledge management, sharing and EI. Practical implications - The proposed research model suggests a successful infusion of KS within IT-ITeS firms. Knowing the EI of employees and, accordingly, changing their behavior towards sharing knowledge is probably a distinctive, most efficacious and essential strategy for augmenting job outcomes. Originality/value - The study establishes the role of KS in translating the impact of EI on JP and JS. Furthermore, it contributes a novel framework of KS behavior.