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The processes that underlie ability emotional intelligence (EI) are barely understood, despite decades of management research. Furthermore, the outcomes of these processes have been narrowly and prescriptively defined. To address this deficiency, I conducted a phenomenological study (n = 26). Findings from a public sector sample suggest that the underlying emotional processes of meaningful life events are – at least for now – better defined through the construct of emotion regulation. While it is part of the ability EI model, the emotional processing that occurs prior to emotion regulation being initiated is likely to be less consistent with current EI theory. Likewise, these processes lead to outcomes considerably more nuanced than currently appreciated in the EI literature. Consequently, what started as a gap-filling approach to research eventually turned into a problematization of what scholars seem to know about EI. I outline the theoretical and practical implications of this study for management, and offer suggestions for future research.

This paper serves two purposes: first, it is an apology for a failure to produce a planned special issue, along with the rationales as to why the authors decided to withdraw it; and second, a commentary on the apparent failure of the research community to address a neglected area of inquiry in emotional intelligence (EI) research.

The authors provide a commentary.

The authors draw attention to the possiblity that employing highly emotionally intelligent individuals may not always yield desirable outcomes for organisations, thus seeking to ignite a more balanced debate as to the merits of EI in management and leadership studies. The authors also detail briefly several avenues for future research.

The theme of the planned special issue was situated at the forefront EI research, so this commentary succinctly highlights the theorising that informed the background to it.

This chapter explores the nuances of anger in the workplace by elucidating the different forms of anger (personal and moral) experienced amongst NHS nurses in the United Kingdom. To do so, I draw upon the Dual Threshold Model of anger as the theoretical lens and employ Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis as the methodological approach. It was found that the behavioural response to particular anger-triggering events differed depending on whether the situation was ‘self-relevant’ or ‘other-relevant’, therefore personal and moral anger, respectively. The findings therefore suggest distinct appraisal pathways and forms of anger, and provide empirical support for a recent re-conceptualisation of moral anger.

Joanne Abbey