Ethical Climate’s Mediating Role on the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to determine the effects of emotional intelligence (EI) on job satisfaction and to examine whether ethical climate has a mediating role in this effect.

Methodology: The study was conducted among employees of sales organizations in the automotive industry. Relationships between variables were determined by correlation and bootstrap regression analysis with data from 127 participants.

Findings: The results revealed that emotional intelligence shows statistically positive and significant relationships with job satisfaction and ethical climate. Moreover, positive correlation was determined between ethical climate and job satisfaction. The most important result is the decrease of the effect of emotional intelligence on job satisfaction in the triple relationship that includes ethical climate. The findings indicated that the relationship between emotional intelligence levels and employees’ perception of organizational ethical climate weakened their impact on job satisfaction.

Implication: Ethical climate has a mediating effect on the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction. The relationship between emotional intelligence levels and job satisfaction is indirectly strengthened by ethical climate. However, the triple relationship of variables weakens the effect of emotional intelligence on job satisfaction.