IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bcp/journl/v9y2025issue-9p5503-5523.html

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership in Construction: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Exploration

Author

Listed:
  • Mohamad Amri Maulana

    (Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia)

  • Syamsul Hendra Mahmud

    (Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia)

  • Hamidun Mohd Noh

    (Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia)

  • Suria Musa

Abstract

This study conducts a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) complemented by bibliometric analysis to examine the landscape of emotional intelligence and leadership in construction, particularly within the context of construction organizations. The review examines five primary themes: personal competencies, relational competencies, organizational climate, leadership experience, and training & development as critical contributors to emotionally intelligent leadership. The findings, based on 78 peer-reviewed articles sourced from Scopus, Web of Science & Science Direct databases, reveal that although research remains limited, its relevance continues to grow across various disciplines and regions. The United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom lead in publication volume, while Malaysia emerges as an active contributor in Southeast Asia. Through bibliometric tools like VOSviewer, key concepts such as personal competencies, relational competencies, organizational competencies, leadership experiences, and training& development were identified as pivotal in emotional intelligence and leadership discourse. This study not only highlights the multidimensional nature of emotional intelligence but also maps its theoretical development and practical implications, emphasizing the need for sustained inquiry, leadership development programs, and sector-specific strategies, particularly in high-stakes industries such as construction.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamad Amri Maulana & Syamsul Hendra Mahmud & Hamidun Mohd Noh & Suria Musa, 2025. "Emotional Intelligence and Leadership in Construction: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Exploration," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(9), pages 5503-5523, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:issue-9:p:5503-5523
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/Digital-Library/volume-9-issue-9/5503-5523.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/articles/emotional-intelligence-and-leadership-in-construction-a-systematic-review-and-bibliometric-exploration/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Diana Tal & Avishag Gordon, 2017. "Publication attributes of leadership: what do they mean?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(3), pages 1391-1402, September.
    2. Cherniss, Cary, 2010. "Emotional Intelligence: Toward Clarification of a Concept," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 110-126, June.
    3. Priyanka & Shikha N. Khera & Pradeep Kumar Suri, 2025. "Developing emotionally intelligent organisations: an imperative for sustainable competitive edge," World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 21(1), pages 57-74.
    4. Snyder, Hannah, 2019. "Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 333-339.
    5. Leslie, Keith & Canwell, Adam, 2010. "Leadership at all levels: Leading public sector organisations in an age of austerity," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 297-305, August.
    6. G. Suri Babu & T. Mohana Rao & Salma Ahmed & K. S. Gupta, 2008. "Relationship Between Leadership Capability and Knowledge Management: A Measurement Approach," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 7(02), pages 83-92.
    7. Newman, Daniel A. & Joseph, Dana L. & MacCann, Carolyn, 2010. "Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance: The Importance of Emotion Regulation and Emotional Labor Context," Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 159-164, June.
    8. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    9. Chao‐Li Xue & Yu‐Sheng Shu & Mark Hayter & Amanda Lee, 2020. "Experiences of nurses involved in natural disaster relief: A meta‐synthesis of qualitative literature," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(23-24), pages 4514-4531, December.
    10. Geeta R. Bharamagoudar & Shashikumar G. Totad & Prasad Reddy & R.B. Shobha, 2015. "Zealous leadership paradigms," International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 92-106.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maryono, Maryono & Killoes, Aditya Marendra & Adhikari, Rajendra & Abdul Aziz, Ammar, 2024. "Agriculture development through multi-stakeholder partnerships in developing countries: A systematic literature review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    2. Pomerlyan, Evgeniya & Belitski, Maksim, 2023. "Integration - Growth relationship: A literature review and future research agenda using a TCCM approach," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1106-1118.
    3. Tim Rademaker & Ingo Klingenberg & Stefan Süß, 2025. "Leadership and technostress: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 75(1), pages 429-494, February.
    4. repec:rbs:ijbess:v:7:y:2026:i:6:p:686-698 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. repec:bcp:journl:v:7:y:2023:i:7:p:384-396 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Shuchi Pahuja & Anita Agrawal, 2023. "Board Attributes and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Perspectives," Indian Journal of Corporate Governance, , vol. 16(1), pages 108-138, June.
    7. Uchendu Eugene Chigbu & Sulaiman Olusegun Atiku & Cherley C. Du Plessis, 2023. "The Science of Literature Reviews: Searching, Identifying, Selecting, and Synthesising," Publications, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, January.
    8. Appiah, Emmanuel Kusi & Gabrielsson, Peter & Rialp Criado, Alex, 2025. "The role of digitalization in early internationalization Research: A systematic literature review and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    9. Lukas Wolf & Martina Steul-Fischer, 2023. "Factors of customers’ channel choice in an omnichannel environment: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(4), pages 1579-1630, December.
    10. Panta Maria & Xygkogianni Maria, 2025. "Digital Maturity in SMEs: A Systematic Synthesis Review and Framework Selection Guidance," Business & Entrepreneurship Journal, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 14(2), pages 1-1.
    11. Ayomide Hannah Igbaroola & Katarzyna Woźniak-Jasińska & Agnieszka Sapa, 2025. "What factors truly drive crop virtual water trade? A systematic literature review," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, December.
    12. Hosany, A. R. Shaheen & Hosany, Sameer & He, Hongwei, 2022. "Children sustainable behaviour: A review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 236-257.
    13. Lenart-Gansiniec Regina, 2022. "The dilemmas of systematic literature review: the context of crowdsourcing in science," International Journal of Contemporary Management, Sciendo, vol. 58(1), pages 11-21, March.
    14. Lydia Novoszel & Tina Wakolbinger, 2022. "Meta-analysis of Supply Chain Disruption Research," SN Operations Research Forum, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-25, March.
    15. Lars Fuglsang & Anne Vorre Hansen & Ines Mergel & Maria Taivalsaari Røhnebæk, 2021. "Living Labs for Public Sector Innovation: An Integrative Literature Review," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, June.
    16. Jianbo Han & Edwin H. W. Chan & Esther H. K. Yung & Queena K. Qian & Patrick T. I. Lam, 2022. "A Policy Framework for Producing Age-Friendly Communities from the Perspective of Production of Space," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-23, February.
    17. Agnieszka A. Tubis & Honorata Poturaj & Anna Smok, 2024. "Interaction between a Human and an AGV System in a Shared Workspace—A Literature Review Identifying Research Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-21, January.
    18. Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion & Grazia Chiara Elmo & Veronica Ungaro & Laura Di Pietro & Olimpia Martucci, 2025. "A Systematic Literature Review of Selected Aspects of Life Cycle Assessment of Rare Earth Elements: Integration of Digital Technologies for Sustainable Production and Recycling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-24, June.
    19. Hetemäki, L. & D'Amato, D. & Giurca, A. & Hurmekoski, E., 2024. "Synergies and trade-offs in the European forest bioeconomy research: State of the art and the way forward," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    20. Vespestad, May Kristin & Clancy, Anne, 2021. "Exploring the use of content analysis methodology in consumer research," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    21. Biniam Getnet Agazu & Chalchissa Amentie Kero & Kenenisa Lemi Debela, 2025. "Transformational leadership and firm performance: a systematic literature review," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 1-28, December.
    22. Assunta Di Vaio & Sabrina Palladino & Elisa Van Engelenhoven, 2025. "Digital Twins nei Sistemi Portuali e il contributo di GHG accounting: Una review della letteratura," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2025(1), pages 211-236.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:issue-9:p:5503-5523. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Dr. Pawan Verma (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.