Abstract
Information systems (IS) research has shown that there is a vast array of motivators and reasons for using social networking sites. Nonetheless, emotional intelligence (EI) has for the most part been neglected by IS-research outside the organizational context. We therefore introduce the concept of EI to social media research and adopt a measurement model. We derive a hypothesis from literature and conduct a survey-based pre-study to investigate the relationship between EI and Facebook use. While our initial hypothesis – indicating a positive relationship between EI and an individual’s Facebook use – cannot be confirmed, we discovered a heterogeneity in our sample that left us with two subgroups. Our analysis shows that those groups display contrasting relationships between EI and Facebook use that should be investigated further. We contribute to theory by applying the concept of EI in a social media context as well as uncovering a relationship between EI and social network use. Our research results also have practical implications for social network design and social media marketing.
Recommended Citation
Hornung, Olivia; Dittes, Sven; and Smolnik, Stefan, "WHEN EMOTIONS GO SOCIAL – UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN SOCIAL NETWORK USE" (2018). Research-in-Progress Papers. 40.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2018_rip/40