The impact of emotional intelligence and leadership style on ERP implementations in the retail industry

The financial challenges of a continuously fluctuating global economy impacted by an aggressive worldwide competition represent a difficult outlook for many retail organizations around the world. The desire to create a more efficient organization which can help improve daily operations is the top priority of most business executives. Business leaders recognize that proper technology could potentially improve their business processes by making their company's operations more efficient. Finding an individual who can offer the right combination of leadership skills, proper level of emotional intelligence and technology is one of the toughest challenges for any retail organization.;Although a leader's ability can be measured in many different ways, the proper combination of leadership style, EI level, and technology knowledge could bring a good alternative for an organization looking to implement new technology in a company. This research study integrated the concept of transformational and transactional leadership styles associated with the leader's EI levels and their impact on a successful ERP implementation in the retail industry. The leader's EI level was measured using Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (SSEIT), and the leader's leadership style was measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X). The results provided by this quantitative study were supported by the data gathered in this research and continues to add to the knowledge base of leadership, EI, and ERP implementations for the retail industry, particularly to retail companies in the early stages of an ERP implementation journey. Furthermore, this current investigation provides information for future research studies in the areas of leadership and emotional intelligence.