Complement or Compensate? Interaction of IQ and Job Experience with Emotional Intelligence in Marketing Exchanges

Although the impact of emotional intelligence (EI), cognitive intelligence (IQ) and experiential or practical intelligence (Epstein 1993) have been discussed in various contexts and for many years, its interaction, compound or compensatory effects in predicting performance in marketing exchanges remain unclear. This paper elaborates if and how EI, IQ, and job experience (as a proxy for experiential intelligence) compensate or complement each other in business negotiations. EI and IQ are estimated through standardized tests. The INSBAT Test (IQ) and the trait emotional intelligence questionnaire (TEIQUE) are employed. The sample is composed of 154 graduate students of a business programme with different levels of job experience. Their negotiation performance is measured through an experimental negotiation role-play. Data is analysed from both the seller’s and the buyer’s perspective.