The Effects of Emotional Intelligence on Student Innovation with Entrepreneurial Capabilities Mediation

Emotional intelligence and social capabilities are of the most important factors affecting growth of entrepreneurial capabilities and innovation. High emotional intelligence results in improvement of commercialand occupational relationships and lives of people. The present study is aimed to investigate the effect ofemotional intelligence on entrepreneurial capabilities and innovation among students. Statistical population of the study is students of industrial university of Sirjan. For this purpose, 390 students were chosen based on Morgan table using convenience sampling. Information was gathered by the questionnaire. It has been designedbased on Golman’s standard questionnaire of emotional intelligence (1988), Badri et al’s questionnaire ofentrepreneurial capabilities (2006) and Lavson & Salmon’s questionnaire of innovation (2006). The questionnaire’s validity was measured by divergent & convergent validities and its reliability was measured by Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. Results of validity and reliability determine validation of the questionnaire. Conceptual model of the study was tested using structural equation modeling so called pathanalysis. Results showed that emotional intelligence has a significant and positive effect on entrepreneurial capabilities and innovation of students. The amount of effect of emotional intelligence on entrepreneurial capabilities and innovation of students was 0.59 and 0.43 respectively. The meditative role of entrepreneurialcapabilities was confirmed for the effect of emotional intelligence on innovation of students. Indirect effect of emotional intelligence on innovation was calculated by entrepreneurial capabilities (0.25). Creation of good university climate for increasing formal and informal relations of students and their self esteem and capabilities for emotional intelligence are effective and suitable on growth of such capabilities.

Keywords:

emotional intelligence , entrepreneurial capabilities , innovation , divergent validity , convergent validity