| Abstract [eng] |
The main purpose of this thesis is to explore what kind of role the emotional intelligence (EQ) variable takes on in the recipe of successful collective action. Since the concept of EQ is relatively new and there is still a lack of research on its significance in collective action studies, this thesis contributes to further exploration of the two. Frequently cooperation in political science is explained solely through the rational choice theory. Even though it reveals the possibilities and choices made by individuals quite well on paper, it perceives them in a somewhat one-dimensional light and does not explain what kind of conditions are needed in order to reach a successful collective action. Even though rationality is often considered an antonym of all that is linked to emotions, that does not necessarily mean both EQ and rational choice theories cannot be combined to interpret collective action. With the increasing number of research on the EQ impact on societies and its so-called “inseparable” part of human beings, this thesis aims to explore whether the connection is there, or the claims are more relevant to pop psych culture. The empirical analysis rests on 17 individuals cooperating in 8 teams of a professional services company that works with public sector bodies on research projects. The data for the thesis was gathered through a close-ended questionnaire to assess the EQ and cooperation levels of the groups via Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) and Mâsse et al (2008) cooperation indexes during October 21-December 15, 2021. In order to better understand the impact of EQ as a causal condition in the collective action as an end-result, the author has also assessed the job satisfaction and group emotional intelligence variables. To measure the aforementioned, Schriesheim and Tsui 1980 questionnaire for job satisfaction and Ghuman‘s GEI model components questionnaire for group emotional intelligence were used accordingly. The questionnaire data was then analyzed by incorporating Quantitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) through fs/QCA software (version 3.0) and participant observation methods. The results of this research have revealed that EQ is not a necessary condition for successful collective action to occur, neither is it a necessary and sufficient condition. The provided data suggest that EQ is a sufficient condition in cooperation, however, due to a limited variance of the dependent variable its expression in observations is limited. In addition, the observations in this study reveal that it is worth rejecting hypotheses that claim EQ as a completely irrelevant element of collective action or that in order to achieve successful collaboration, each member requires to belong to a high EQ set. On the contrary, this paper suggests that EQ operates on a “viral” basis and that one individual belonging to a high EQ set (and vice versa – one that does not belong to a high EQ set) is sufficient to affect the whole collaborating group. Lastly, although the QCA method is heavily dependent on the researcher’s knowledge of variables and cases in their study, which in turn allows for human and / or subjective errors, this thesis makes a unique theoretical contribution to this area of research due to its dependent and independent variable calibration technique. This is considered a great added value for the academic community not only in the field of emotional intelligence and collective action research, but also in the application of the QCA method since one of the main parts of this method (calibration) is based on researcher knowledge and theoretical justification. As no similar studies were available at the time of this study that could act as a precedent and theoretically argue for calibration thresholds, the author was tasked to broaden the discussion of these niches with previously unused indexes for EQ and cooperation by independently creating rules for variable calibration. |
