EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES AS PSYCHOLOGICAL RESOURCES FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL RESILIENCE

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM YOUTH-OWNED ENTERPRISES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the predictive influence of emotional intelligence dimensions on entrepreneurial resilience among youth-owned enterprises in South-South Nigeria.
Adopting a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design, a sample size of 384 youth enterprise operators was determined using Cochran's formula, while proportionate sampling was employed to allocate respondents across Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers States. From the 384 questionnaires administered, 318 valid responses were retrieved and analysed. Emotional intelligence was operationalized through self-awareness, self-regulation, and empathy, while entrepreneurial resilience was measured using indicators of adaptability, persistence, and recovery capacity. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the hypothesised relationships, with hypotheses evaluated at the 0.05 significance level. The results revealed that the model explained 61.2% of the variance in entrepreneurial resilience (R² = 0.612, F = 221.76, p < 0.001).
Self-regulation (β = 0.352, p < 0.001), empathy (β = 0.296, p < 0.001), and self-awareness (β = 0.231, p < 0.001) emerged as significant positive predictors of entrepreneurial resilience. Notably, self-regulation emerged as the strongest predictor, indicating that emotional restraint, impulse control, and proactive stress management are associated with enhanced business resilience. The study concludes that emotional competencies, as conceptualised within Goleman's (1995) Emotional Intelligence Theory, are significant behavioural determinants of entrepreneurial resilience. The study contributes to the behavioural entrepreneurship literature by demonstrating the primacy of self-regulation as a resilience-enabling competency in resource-constrained entrepreneurial environments, with implications for the design of emotionally integrated entrepreneurship curricula and enterprise development programmes in Nigeria.