**Apologies for Cross Postings**
Negotiation and Conflict Management Research
© The International Association for Conflict Management (IACM) and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Michael A. Gross, Editor-in-Chief
Colorado State University
NCMR Volume 11, Issue 3
August 2018
Now Online
Special Issue on Conceptual Reviews
Conceptual Articles:
Unpacking the Meaning of Conflict in Organizational Conflict Research
Elisabeth Naima Mikkelsen1 and Stewart Clegg2, 3
1Department of Organization, Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark
2Centre for Management and Organization Studies, University of Technology Sydney Business School, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
3Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon, Portugal
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12127
Abstract
In this conceptual essay, we review the field of organizational conflict to unpack how it has been constructed genealogically and with what consequences by investigating three major shifts in theorization that have occurred over the past six decades. First, a move away from viewing conflict as dysfunctional to viewing it as constructive. Second, a shift from normative prescriptions to descriptions of what disputants do in conflict. Third, a shift from psychological functional analyses to studying conflict as an organizational phenomenon. We find that three distinct and essentially contested conceptions frame studies of conflict at work: conflict as a distinct behavioral phenomenon, conflict as an instrumental means of achieving something else, and conflict as a social construction contingent on how reality is perceived. This conceptual essay adds to current thinking in organizational conflict research by emphasizing how philosophical and political assumptions about conflict can be seen to have framed knowledge production within the field when it is viewed historically.
Peacemaking at the Workplace: A Systematic Review
Xiaolei Zhang1, Katalien Bollen2, Rong Pei3, and Martin C. Euwema1
1KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
2University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
3Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12128
Abstract
Research on third party interventions in conflict has mostly focused on formal interventions by professional mediators or supervisors. Studies on informal and voluntary third party interventions by peers or someone else in a nonhierarchical position are very limited. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate empirical studies on peacemaking to (a) define the concept; (b) search for scales that measure peacemaking; (c) and identify outcomes of peacemaking. In total, our search led to 713 unique hits of which 12 were retained based on the predefined selection criteria. Based on the findings from the reviewed articles, we propose a definition of peacemaking and identify four components of peacemaking: relational, procedural, emotional, and content help. This study contributes to the current conflict management literature by focusing on informal and voluntary helping behavior in the context of conflicts (instead of formal interventions), while linking the literature on organizational citizenship behavior and research on third party interventions in the context of conflict. In practice, peacemakers play a crucial role in solving conflicts constructively and contribute as such to both individual and team functioning.
Conflict and Decision-Making: Attributional and Emotional Influences
Kevin J. Hurt1 and Jennifer Welbourne2
1Department of Management and Marketing, Columbus State University, Columbus, GA, U.S.A.
2Department of Management, The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, U.S.A.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12133
Abstract
There is general consensus among conflict scholars that cognitive conflict's impact within the organization is functional, whereas affective conflict's impact is dysfunctional. Inconsistent findings in the literature suggest that additional factors impact these relationships. In this study, we integrate theories of conflict, affect, and attribution within the domain of decision-making to gain a greater understanding of how and why organizational conflicts are at times positive, negative, or neutral. Specifically, we posit that the conclusions individuals reach as a result of their attributions, and their subsequent emotions and behavioral responses, play a significant role in determining conflict's effects. We apply theories of team-level emotional convergence to propose how the individual emotional responses of team members may converge into a collective emotional response at the team level. Finally, we propose that the team-level emotional responses initiated by the attribution process are significant moderators of the relationship between conflict type and decision outcomes.
Original Articles:
Robert McKersie: Integrative Scholar
Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld1 and Thomas A. Kochan2
1Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, U.S.A
2Sloan School of Management, MIT, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12117
Abstract
This article is a tribute to Robert McKersie. It focuses on his career journey as an integrative scholar and touches on his scholarship, which among many honors included the 1995 International Association of Conflict Management (IACM) Lifetime Achievement Award. As the article suggests, Bob is integrative in multiple ways-as a teacher and facilitator integrating diverse concepts and interests; as a scholar lifting up Mary Parker Follet's concept of integration from the 1920s and, along with coauthor Richard Walton, giving it a new life in the 1965 Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations; and as a friend and colleague bringing out the best in everyone he encounters.
Raiffa Transformed the Field of Negotiation–and Me
Max Bazerman
Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ncmr.12121
Abstract
Howard Raiffa was a role model, friend, and inspiration. He transformed the field of negotiation, and he transformed my career. This brief article provides a recollection of how Howard revolutionized the field of negotiation, and how those insights are now affecting broader areas of the of the social science. Howard received the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Conflict Management.
NCMR Journal Home Page: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1750-4716
Michael A. Gross, Ph.D.
Professor of Management
Editor-in-Chief, Negotiation and Conflict Management Research| E-mail: cob_ncmr@Mail.Colostate.edu
College of Business | Rockwell Hall #219 | Colorado State University | Fort Collins, CO 80523-1275
Office: (970) 491-6368 | FAX: (970) 491-3522 | E-mail: Michael.Gross@colostate.edu