Use of emotional intelligence in human resource management in healthcare organizations for competitive advantage: A systematic literature review

Recent years have seen escalating interest in the impact of emotions within organizations. However, research on the role of emotional intelligence specifically in the domain of human resource management in healthcare organizations has been ignored. This chapter compiles a comprehensive, systematic review of literature on the impacts of emotional intelligence in the healthcare sector spanning a period from 1960 to 2020. The authors aim to explore and raise pertinent questions about the impacts of emotional intelligence on healthcare outcomes, job stress, emotional labor, and linkages of emotional intelligence with a competitive advantage for healthcare organizations. A major contribution of this work is the proposal of a novel conceptual framework for the marketing of emotional intelligence in the healthcare sector. Literature gaps, relationships among works, and current trends are discussed.