The Contingency Theory of Strategic Conflict Management: Review From Three Decades of Theory Development, Extension, and Application

Abstract

Contingency theory explains how theory can explain, relate, and capture interactions between an organization and its multiple publics regarding real-world issues. Over the past three decades, it has emerged as an empirically tested perspective, grounded on how intuitive, nuanced, and textured strategic conflict management is practiced. It represents a paradigmatic shift in thinking from normative thought. This essay first consolidates the theoretical development and explication by mapping out the key tenets of the theory, and then discusses the growth of the theory through extension and application. The last section contemplates new directions as the theory develops.

“READINESS”: A keystone concept beyond organizational crisis preparedness and resilience

“…The contingency theory of strategic conflict management (thereafter the contingency theory) (originated by Cancel et al, 1997Cancel et al, , 1999 captures the complex nature of the reality of public relations and communication management practice (including crisis management) by exploring the optimization of conflict positioning, stance taking and strategic responses to issues or problems with their publics could be more dynamic (Pang et al, 2023a(Pang et al, , 2023b, which essentially reflect the need for practitioners and organizations to be ready in a complex and dynamic environment. The contingency theory offers a matrix of 87 factors, arranged thematically, that an organization can draw on to determine its optimal position and response, from advocacy to accommodation, in a given situation at a given time with a given primary public (Pang et al, 2023a(Pang et al, , 2023b.…”