Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conflict and Decision-Making: Attributional and Emotional Influences

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-26-2018

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.

Comments

© 2018 International Association for Conflict Management and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/ZWNZXTQ7INIUCWDBSVJM?target=10.1111/ncmr.12133

Publication Title

Negotiation Confl Manage Res

DOI

10.1111/ncmr.12133

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