The Relationship Between Thinking Ability, Emotional Intelligence, and Decision-Making

Despite a significant amount of research on decision-making, academics find it difficult to explain the decision-making process. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence, thinking ability, and decision-making, as well as develop measurement instruments for thinking ability to better model decision-making. By following a deductive research approach associated with positivist philosophy, a cross-sectional study was conducted and surveyed 547 respondents in South Vietnam via email sent randomly by Google Forms using a convenience sampling method. To avoid common method bias, the reliability and validity of all items were assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and using the SPSS program. Then, to assess the structural model and test hypotheses, partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied using the SmartPLS program. The findings not only have proven the significantly positive effects of emotional intelligence and thinking ability on decision-making but also highlight the suitability of the measurement instruments related to thinking ability in explaining decision-making that no research has ever built before. Based on the findings, this research opens up a novel research approach to decision-making and provides the foundation for policymakers and managers to improve decision-making efficiency and human resource quality. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2024-08-02-017 Full Text: PDF