Soft organizational performance: behavioural antecedents and the role of emotional intelligence

Purpose This study examines how four leadership behavior categories (task-, relations-, change-, and external-oriented) relate to soft organizational performance in SMEs and whether leaders’ emotional intelligence moderates these relationships. Soft performance refers to specific intangible business capabilities and processes such as collaboration, digital maturity, customer orientation, renewal capability, and brand. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 301 Finnish SMEs. Hierarchical regression analysis was applied to test direct and moderating effects. Findings Relations-oriented and external-oriented leadership behaviors show positive associations with soft performance, whereas task- and change-oriented behaviors do not have direct effects. Emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between task-oriented behavior and soft performance, modestly strengthening its impact. No moderation effects were found for other leadership categories. Change-oriented behavior shows neither direct nor moderated effects. Practical implications Organizations may benefit from prioritizing relations- and external-oriented leadership and promoting emotional intelligence, particularly among task-focused leaders. Originality/value The study contributes by integrating multiple organizational capabilities commonly examined in isolation into a leadership-relevant performance construct and by identifying which behavioral leadership categories are most strongly associated with this capability base. The study also shows initial evidence how emotional intelligence may act as a behavior-specific moderator. The study advances understanding of the behavioral practices through which leadership influences intangible organizational capabilities.