I welcome collaboration with researchers in EI, leadership psychology, management education, and organisational behaviour. I am also open to connecting with organisations interested in participating in empirical research studies on EI and leadership.
Ongoing Research
Current doctoral work
& active projects
A live view of my PhD at ASE Bucharest, active research directions, and upcoming academic activities in emotional intelligence and leadership.
Active Projects
Current research streams
PhD Dissertation: Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Leadership Effectiveness
Active
My primary doctoral investigation at ASE Bucharest examines the relationship between EI competencies and leadership effectiveness. Building on my published bibliometric analyses of EI models (IMC 2025, PICBE 2025), the dissertation now moves into empirical investigation across diverse organisational contexts using mixed methods.
Cultural Perspectives on Leadership & Student Engagement
Active
Ongoing international collaboration (Romania, Portugal, Spain) investigating how cultural context shapes leadership engagement among university students. Published at ICERI2025 (Seville), with further data collection and analysis planned across European partner institutions.
Bibliometric Mapping of the EI & Leadership Literature
Active
A systematic bibliometric research stream analysing the volume, evolution, and structure of the academic literature on emotional intelligence models and their application to leadership performance. Two publications in 2025 (IMC & PICBE) form the foundation of this stream, with further synthesis work planned.
Leadership Development in Remote & Algorithmic Work Environments
Continuing
Extending the findings from the IMC 2024 paper (co-authored with L.S. Berta) into a deeper empirical investigation of how leadership development practices adapt to remote, hybrid, and algorithmically-mediated work environments.
Academic Journey
Research milestones
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October 2024
PhD Enrolment — ASE Bucharest
Enrolled in the Doctoral School of Management, Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Simultaneous enrolment in Executive MBA at WU Academy (2024–2026).
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October–November 2024
First International Conference Publication
Co-authored "Leadership development in remote working" at the 18th International Management Conference, ASE Bucharest.
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2025
Three Further Publications — Three International Venues
Published at IMC 2025 (Bucharest), ICERI2025 (Seville), and the International Conference on Business Excellence — covering bibliometrics of EI models, cross-cultural leadership, and EI in leadership performance.
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2025–2026 · Current
Empirical Phase — Dissertation
Moving from bibliometric analysis into empirical investigation. Conducting interviews and surveys across organisations to test hypotheses on EI and leadership effectiveness.
2026 — Planned
Further Publications & Dissertation Completion
Target publication of empirical findings in a peer-reviewed journal; completion of Executive MBA; continued progression toward doctoral thesis completion.
Publications
Peer-reviewed works
2025 · IMC Conference
Bibliometric analysis of emotional intelligence models
Necula, C. and Olteanu, A.-R. — 19th International Management Conference, Bucharest, pp. 413–433.
DOI: 10.24818/IMC/2025/04.06 ↗2025 · ICERI Conference
Cultural perspective on leadership and engagement among university students
Necula, C., Radu, C., Caldeira, R. and Varela, M. — ICERI2025, Seville, pp. 3090–3098.
DOI: 10.21125/iceri.2025.0990 ↗2025 · Journal Article
A comparative bibliometric analysis of emotional intelligence in leadership performance
Necula, C. — Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, 19(1), pp. 783–813.
DOI: 10.2478/picbe-2025-0063 ↗2024 · IMC Conference
Leadership development in remote working
Berta, L.S. and Necula, C. — 18th International Management Conference, Bucharest, pp. 89–97.
DOI: 10.24818/IMC/2024/02.02 ↗Follow the research journey
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