The intensity of small-business owners and the environmental difficulties they encountered were investigated as predictors of growth intentions in Turkey. Data were collected from 526 small businesses in 14 major cities using the Entrepreneurial Profile Questionnaire. Factor analysis showed environmental difficulties and growth intentions to be multifactor constructs, while intensity emerged as a single factor. A canonical correlation analysis found owner intensity to be significantly related to the three growth plan factors of technology improvement, resource aggregation, and market expansion. Among the difficulty factors, only lack of know-how and financing problems showed a significant relation to growth plans. Financing difficulties hindered technological improvement and resource aggregation, while know-how negatively affected market expansion. Other difficulty factors such as entry barriers, family-business role conflict, and ethnic prejudice were not among the predictors of growth plans. The article draws out the implications of these findings for government policy and for future research.

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This study reports the results of surveys of conflict management styles of 215 Turkish and 134 Jordanian managers. Managers in both countries showed a resemblance to each other, and to their U.S. counterparts, in reporting a clear preference for the collaborative style in handling conflicts. The two countries differed both from each other and the U.S. in preferences for the remaining styles, notably forcing and accommodation. Conflict management styles were also found to be affected by the position of the other party, i.e., whether he/she is a subordinate, superior, or peer in both countries. Once again, differences between the two Mideastern countries were as marked as differences between them and the U.S. The paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for comparative management.

This study investigated the third party roles of Turkish managers and how these roles were related to the conflict management styles used by their subordinates. Questionnaire data were collected from 295 Turkish managers in seven firms. Mediation and facilitation were found to be the third party roles reported more frequently than autocratic intervention and laissez‐faire. Subordinates reported increased use of collaboration and compromise toward the other party when their managers, in a third party role, were seen as using more mediation and facilitation. Competitive behavior increased when the third party was seen as autocratic. The paper discussed the relationship of these findings to cultural characteristics such as uncertainty avoidance and collectivism.

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