Zhang, L and Sunindijo, R Y (2021) Emotional intelligence of local and overseas graduates in real estate industry in China. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 26(1), pp. 185-204. ISSN 1823-6499
Abstract
There is still limited research that investigates emotional intelligence in the context of the real estate sector in China, despite the rapid growth of the industry. Furthermore, there has been an exponential increase in the number of Chinese students studying overseas. Underpinned by these tendencies, this research investigates the levels of emotional intelligence of overseas and local graduates in the real estate sector in China. Data were collected using a survey of 140 employees and semi-structured interviews of four human resource managers in six Grade One state-owned real estate companies in China. The findings suggest that emotional intelligence influences the levels of interpersonal skills, represented by communication skills and teamwork behaviour. However, there is no difference in the levels of emotional intelligence between overseas and local graduates, suggesting that there are other factors that influence emotional intelligence development. Overseas graduates also seem to have greater difficulties than local graduates from elite universities to find jobs in the real estate sector. This suggests that international study experience is no longer adequate; instead, various contextualised interpersonal skills are needed to meet work demands in China. Developing emotional intelligence has been found to promote success across cultures and is a way to meet the demands of today's work environments in the real estate industry in China.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | China; emotional intelligence; communication skills; teamwork behaviour; interpersonal skills; real estate; overseas graduates; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | teamwork, communication skill, emotional intelligence, work environment, real estate, survey, manager, interview, interpersonal skill, China, questionnaire, human resource |
| Subjects: | real estate economics, psychology, practitioner, human factors and perception, data collection methods, Geography, management |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Geographical Context, Roles and Professions, Human Resources, Urban Studies, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here