A Project Manager's Skillset and Emotional Intelligence Effects on Project Outcomes
A Project Manager's Skillset and Emotional Intelligence Effects on Project Outcomes
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Issue Date
2025-10
Authors
Bombardo-Way, Tamara
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Abstract
With advances in technology and globalization, the automotive industry’s new product development has evolved quickly, becoming more demanding and fluid. With existing challenges and evolution, it has exacerbated project failures and increased wasted funds in the industry. According to the Project Management Institute, failure rates are not decreasing, and millions of dollars are lost annually, despite the development and implementation of new tools and procedures. The problem addressed in this study is the high rate of project failures in new product development among automotive Tier 1suppliers in Michigan's automotive industry. An explanatory case study was selected to evaluate the theory by developing an understanding of the phenomenon. The purpose was to better understand the contributing factors of project management related to project failure within Michigan’s Tier 1 automotive supplier new product development industry, with the goal of decreasing failure rates. The research was constructed within a theoretical framework grounded in existing emotional intelligence theory. Interviews lasting between 35 minutes and an hour, with open-ended questions, were completed by 14 participants. This was followed by a focus group and data analysis conducted using NVivo 15. Research question one and the four sub-questions focused on the effects of a project manager’s emotional intelligence on project outcomes. This will help determine whether emotional intelligence directly improves project outcomes or indirectly through enhanced communication, organization, and workflow. Research question 2 focused on the hard skills required for project managers. No matter the required level of hard skills, there is an identified need for them to work in tandem with a project manager’s emotional intelligence. It was also discovered that the techniques and statistical analysis developed by the Project Management Institute for determining project failures do not align with those used by individuals in the automotive new product development industry. Recommendations for further research include determining what is considered a project failure in the industry to determine whether failure rates have fluctuated. Additionally, it is recommended to investigate the use of emotional intelligence measurements during interviewing processes and to include emotional intelligence training in organizational requirements, which would benefit project outcomes and organizational success.
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Keywords
Project Management , Emotional Intelligence , Automotive , Business, Engineering, Science, & Technological Innovation