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Chapter 9
Suhaila Al Hashemi
University of Bahrain, Bahrain
Zahra Haji
University of Bahrain, Bahrain
The Role of Emotional
Intelligence in Knowledge-
Enabled Customer Delight:
A Case on Bahrain
ABSTRACT
As customers we would like to feel important when we enter a business, or buy a product. How much
information given to us by the company plays an important role in strengthening brand loyalty and
repeated visits. Expressing gratitude, concern, and understanding towards customers has proven to
enhance customer satisfaction and thereon relationships with the business. Being able to respond to
customers by providing technical support and knowledge about the product or service would lead to a
more understanding customer. Most managers agree with the notion that they should focus on growing
the lifetime value of their customer relationships. Knowledge enabled customers are more productive
and improve the quality and services of businesses, whether directly or indirectly. The daily challenge
of dealing effectively with emotions is critical to the human condition because human brains are hard
wired to give emotions the upper hand. The higher the level of Emotional Intelligence (EI) displayed by
employees, the more satisfed customers are with the experience. Empathizing with customers’ problems
and allowing them to express their opinions enable organisations to improve and become much more
effective. The objective of the chapter is to present the link between customer satisfaction, emotional
intelligence, and knowledge management within the context of Bahrain.
The research found a relationship between emotional intelligence, knowledge management, and customer
satisfaction. National and corporate culture infuenced such relationship. The fndings of this research
therefore add a new dimension (namely, national and corporate culture in the Gulf Region) to the con-
cepts of emotional intelligence, knowledge management, and customer satisfaction.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-089-7.ch009