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Toward a Theory of Conflict Cultures in Organizations

Research on conflict management in organizations is thriving, yet historically it has been primarily micro in its orientation, focusing almost exclusively on individual and small group processes. Although a micro approach to conflict management is certainly valid, from a levels of analysis perspective, by limiting the focus on conflict management to the individual and small group level, current conflict management paradigms may be underspecified (House et al., 1995). Many phenomena in organizations - whether it is innovation, leadership, or job attitudes, involve multiple levels of analysis, and conflict management should be of no exception. In this theory paper, we introduce a complementary macro theory of conflict cultures, or shared norms that specify how conflict should be managed in organizational settings. We propose a typology that includes four distinct organizational conflict cultures, collaborative conflict cultures, avoidant conflict cultures, passive-aggressive conflict cultures, and dominating conflict cultures, which are differentiated by two dimensions - active versus passive conflict management norms, and prosocial versus antisocial conflict management norms. We discuss top down processes (e.g., leadership, organizational structure and rewards, industry and societal factors) and bottom-up processes (e.g., personality, demographics, values) that facilitate the development of distinct conflict cultures. We explore organizational outcomes of conflict cultures as well as moderators of proposed effects. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications of a conflict culture perspective.