Cultivating Negotiation Skills As Critical Thinking: An Analysis of Emotional Intelligence and Self-Efficacy's Roles among Vietnamese Students

Duong Minh Ngo; Marta Ladanyi; Norbert Bozsik

doi:10.31181/dma412026184

Authors

Duong Minh Ngo 1) MATE Doctoral School of Economic and Regional Sciences, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary; 2) Faculty of International Business, Banking Academy of Vietnam, 100000 Hanoi, Vietnam https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5956-0508
Marta Ladanyi 3) Institute of Mathematics and Basic Science, Department of Applied Statistics, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 1118 Budapest, Hungary https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3114-8289
Norbert Bozsik 4) Department of Economics and Natural Resources, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 3200 Gyöngyös, Hungary https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3115-6118

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31181/dma412026184

Keywords:

Decision-Making, Job Negotiation Efficacy, Critical Thinking, Self-Efficacy, Emotional Intelligence, Higher Education

Abstract

This study examines psychological factors influencing job negotiation efficacy among Vietnamese economics students and conceptualizes negotiation as an applied critical thinking skill required for professional success. Drawing on Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, the study develops and empirically tests a model assessing the effects of mastery experience, verbal persuasion, physiological and affective states, and emotional intelligence on job negotiation efficacy. Survey data were collected from 222 undergraduate economics students in Vietnam and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that emotional intelligence has the strongest positive effect on job negotiation efficacy, followed by verbal persuasion and physiological and affective states. In contrast, mastery experience from classroom-based negotiation activities does not show a significant effect. This finding suggests that experiential learning may not automatically strengthen students’ negotiation efficacy when classroom activities are mainly group-oriented and do not provide sufficient individual responsibility, personalized feedback, and realistic decision-making pressure. The study contributes to self-efficacy theory by showing that emotional and psychological resources are central to negotiation-related critical thinking in higher education.

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