The Effect of Conflict Goals on Avoidance Strategies: What Does Not Communicating Communicate?

Wang, Qi; Fink, Edward L.; Cai, Deborah A.

doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2011.01421.x

Cited by 54 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…These findings are also consistent with recent work showing that avoidance, which has traditionally been conceptualized as a passive form of conflict management only undertaken when people were indifferent to the conflict (Blake & Mouton, ; Pruitt & Carnevale, ), is often used actively and strategically, and can occur in a variety of forms (Wang et al., ). Future research should investigate how avoidant conflict management influences individual, affective outcomes in the context of task conflict as well.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Conflict management is typically conceptualized in terms of being collaborative, competitive, or avoidant (De Dreu & Van Vianen, ; De Dreu et al., ). Avoidant conflict management involves managing conflicts indirectly by avoiding confrontations, downplaying the issues, withdrawing (either physically, mentally or both) from the conflict, suppressing one's thoughts about the conflict, pretending that the conflict is nonexistent, or ignoring the conflict (De Dreu & van de Vliert, ; De Dreu et al., ; Putnam & Wilson, ; Wang et al., ). It is important to highlight that the use of an avoidant conflict management style does not mean that the relationship conflict itself is avoided, but rather, that a relationship conflict is perceived but people choose not to deal with it and attempt to resolve it via avoidance.…”

Section: Moderating Roles Of Avoidant Conflict Management and Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, management of relationship conflicts may be best approached by attempting to prevent escalation of the conflict rather than resolving the conflict completely (De Dreu & Van Vianen, ). With this logic in mind, avoidant conflict management, which is a tendency to avoid confrontations, downplay contentious issues, suppress thinking about the conflict, pretend that the conflict is nonexistent, or ignore the conflict (De Dreu, Evers, Beersma, Kluwer, & Nauta, ; De Dreu & van de Vliert, ; De Dreu & Van Vianen, ; Putnam & Wilson, ; Wang, Fink, & Cai, ), may mitigate the negative effects of relationship conflict on an individual, affective level, and thus be an effective tool in difficult situations. Avoiding confrontation related to managing the relationship conflict may allow the negative emotionality surrounding the conflict to dissipate.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gender and the Emotional Experience of Relationship Conflict: The Differential Effectiveness of Avoidant Conflict Management

Bear

Weingart

Todorova

2014

Negotiation Conflict Man Res

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Conflict research has shown that managing relationship conflict via avoidance is beneficial for team performance, but it is unclear whether avoidant conflict management benefits individuals on an affective level. Drawing on theories of gender roles, we proposed that gender is an important factor that influences whether avoidant conflict management mitigates the negative affective effects of relationship conflict. In a field study of a healthcare organization, we found that relationship conflict resulted in negative emotions, which, in turn, were positively associated with emotional exhaustion two months later. Avoidant conflict management attenuated the relationship between negative emotions engendered by relationship conflict and emotional exhaustion, but this effect depended on gender. Among men, the extent to which they used an avoidant conflict management style mitigated the association between negative emotions and emotional exhaustion, whereas among women, avoidant conflict management did not attenuate this relationship. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Moderating Roles Of Avoidant Conflict Management and Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Gender and the Emotional Experience of Relationship Conflict: The Differential Effectiveness of Avoidant Conflict Management

Bear

Weingart

Todorova

2014

Negotiation Conflict Man Res

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“…Further, avoidance often leads to interpersonal misperceptions, for example that the conflict has been resolved or effectively managed." The authors also refer to evidence that avoidance can yield either constructive or destructive outcomes, depending how and when it is deployed (e.g., Fitzpatrick, Fallis, and Vance 1982;Raush et al 1974: 63-83;Rusbult 1987;Wang, Fink, and Cai 2012).…”

Section: Empirical Support For the Competence Model Of Conflictmentioning

confidence: 97%

14. Communication competence in the management of conflict

Cupach¹

2015

Communication Competence

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This essay explicates the communication competence model of conflict. The model proposes that conflict communication influences judgments of competence, which in turn, influence relational outcomes. In particular, integrative conflict behaviors tend to be judged as relatively appropriate and effective communication, thereby enhancing relational outcomes such as attraction, trust, control mutuality, intimacy, and relational satisfaction. Distributive conflict behaviors, on the other hand, are perceived to be less appropriate and less effective, which consequently damages relational outcomes. A review of empirical studies from the domains of interpersonal and organizational communication generally supports these claims, and demonstrates that competence judgments mediate the association between conflict communication and relational outcomes. The competence model has been applied principally to friendships, dating relationships, marital relationships, and decision-making task relationships in a workplace setting. It would be beneficial to test the model in other types of relationships where conflict is common, such as sibling relationships, parent-child relationships, and relationships between service-providers and clients. In addition, a more complete picture of the role of competence judgments will require exploring how more complex sequences and patterns of conflict behaviors relate to competence judgments.Conflict is a natural and endemic feature of interpersonal connection. It is the inevitable consequence of the interdependent nature of people's relationships with one another. Conflict figures prominently in relationships between married partners, friends, family members, relatives, co-workers, neighbors, and others (Argyle and Furnham 1983). Although the word conflict often carries negative connotations and its experience tends to be aversive, it can also yield positive consequences. When conflict is handled poorly, it can produce personal distress, leave opportunities unfulfilled, damage or destroy social and personal relationships, and lead to psychological or physical aggression. When conflict is managed competently, however, it can diminish anxiety, solve problems, enhance relationship closeness and solidarity, and foster prosocial, non-aggressive patterns of interaction. The ability to manage conflict successfully is a fundamental aspect of interpersonal competence (e.g., Buhrmester et al. 1988;Grover et al. 2012).

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“…Specifically, the partnership involved the R&D department of a technology company, EAclient (a pseudonym), and its chief supplier/codeveloper, EAsupplier (a pseudonym), for 8 particular projects. The East Asia region, which the case stems from, is characterised by a culture that is known for its caring relationship‐oriented values (eg, Gao, Ballantyne, & Knight, ; Leung, Koch, & Lu, ) and a desire to maintain harmony (eg, Tjosvold & Sun, ; Wang, Fink, & Cai, ). Hence, maintaining good relationships becomes a crucial business issue.…”

Section: How Is Email Adapted In Conflict Situations So As To Sustainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Email adaptation for conflict handling: A case study of cross‐border inter‐organisational partnership in East Asia

Lee

Panteli

Bülow

et al. 2017

Information Systems Journal

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This paper explores the context of email‐based communication in an established but fragile, inter‐organisational partnership, which was often overlain with conflict. Drawing upon adaptation theory, this study explores how participants adapt to the use of email to handle conflict. Extensive data were obtained during a 6‐month field study of a case of cross‐border inter‐organisational collaboration in East Asia. We observed that the individuals involved in the cross‐border partnership used email as a lean form of communication to stop covert conflict from explicitly emerging. In contrast to prior research on the leanness of email in managing conflict, we found that under the described conflict situation the very leanness of email was appreciated and thus, exploited by those concerned to manage the conflict situation. Specifically, we identified 4 key conflict‐triggered adaptation strategies, namely, interaction avoidance, disempowering, blame‐protection, and image‐sheltering that drove the ways in which email was adapted to maintain organisational partnerships under conflict.

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The Effect of Conflict Goals on Avoidance Strategies: What Does Not Communicating Communicate?

Cited by 54 publications

References 57 publications

Gender and the Emotional Experience of Relationship Conflict: The Differential Effectiveness of Avoidant Conflict Management

Gender and the Emotional Experience of Relationship Conflict: The Differential Effectiveness of Avoidant Conflict Management

14. Communication competence in the management of conflict

Email adaptation for conflict handling: A case study of cross‐border inter‐organisational partnership in East Asia

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