Date
3-10-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Benjamin Wood
Keywords
emotional intelligence, employee engagement, leader-member exchange, social exchange theory, mediation, leadership, structural equation modeling
Disciplines
Human Resources Management | Psychology
Recommended Citation
Frommack, Michael, "Not All EI Dimensions Are Created Equal: Differential Effects of Perceived Leader Emotional Intelligence on LMX Quality and Employee Engagement" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7967.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7967
Abstract
This quantitative study examined the pathways through which employees’ perceptions of their leaders’ emotional intelligence influenced employee engagement, with leader-member exchange (LMX) quality as a mediating mechanism. Using structural equation modeling with data from 368 full-time employees, the study investigated whether the four dimensions of leader emotional intelligence differentially predicted the three dimensions of employee engagement. Results demonstrated that leader EQ strongly predicted LMX quality (β = .80, p < .001, R² = .64), and that leader emotional intelligence and LMX quality significantly predicted employee engagement in bivariate analyses (β = .43, p < .001, R² = .19; β = .47, p < .001, R² = .22, respectively). However, LMX quality completely mediated this relationship. The indirect effect was significant (β = .26, p = .002), while the direct effect was nonsignificant after accounting for LMX (β = .17, p = .108), indicating full mediation. No dimension-specific pathways emerged after controlling for relationship quality. Supplementary analyses revealed that others’ emotion appraisal (OEA) demonstrated almost twice the predictive strength of the other emotional intelligence dimensions for predicting LMX quality (β = .45, p < .001). These findings provide empirical support for Social Exchange Theory and demonstrate that leader emotional intelligence is statistically accounted for by relationship quality mechanisms. Practical implications suggest that organizations should prioritize relationship building competencies in leadership development and selection. Theoretical implications challenge assumptions about dimensional equivalence in emotional intelligence frameworks and establish LMX quality as the complete mediator for leadership influence on employee engagement.
