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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to map the intellectual structure of conflict management studies by investigating the key themes, concepts and their relationships for the period 2007-2017. The study updates the previous decade (1997-2006) investigation by Ma et al. (2008) to reflect the increased publication efforts in the field.Design/methodology/approachBibliometric analysis was used to trace the development path of the extant literature. The study included activity indicators such as distribution of articles and most-cited journals; relationship indicators such as co-author analysis and keyword analysis; and the mapping of the theoretical foundations.FindingsThe analysis identified five key themes that help track the direction of conflict management research: negotiation, mediation, trust, conflict management styles and performance.Originality/valueThese themes show a wider diversification of topics in the field than in the past, corroborating previous results about the reputation and maturity of conflict management as an independent scientific field of research. This study will help scholars to improve their understanding of the evolution of conflict management studies and the direction that conflict management research is taking, in particular, identifying available avenues for future research.

Remote work has become a new way of working due to the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which inevitably aggravates team conflicts caused by cognitive differences given the lack of face-to-face communication. With a team climate perspective, this paper investigates the impact of the team leader’s conflict management style on team innovation performance in remote R&D teams in China based on social cognition theory and two-dimension theory. A theoretical model is constructed which describes the mediating effect of team psychological safety and the moderating impact of team trust. Paired data from 118 remote R&D teams in China including 118 leaders and 446 members were collected. The results show that team leader’s cooperative conflict management style is conducive to enhancing team psychological safety and further effectively improves team innovation performance. Therefore, team psychological safety has a mediating effect between team leader’s cooperative conflict management style and team innovation performance. In addition, team trust has a negative moderating effect between team leader’s cooperative conflict management style and team psychological safety. Besides, this study obtains some valuable culture-related insights and provides more views for conflict management research in the cross-cultural context since the samples in this study are from China, a society with high collectivism, which is different from the western cultural context from which many conflict management theories develop.

Purpose Firms often encounter complicated external relationships and conflicts in inbound and outbound open innovation (OI). Conflict management significantly affects innovation results. Guided by resource dependence theory (RDT), this study aims to examine the moderating effects of conflict management styles in the relationship between OI and organizational performance (OP). Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on manufacturing and service firms in China, with the respondents composed of senior managers. Using hierarchical regression analysis, data from 270 firm samples are used to empirically test the hypotheses. Findings Inbound and outbound OI openness positively affects OP. Cooperative conflict management positively moderates the relationship between inbound OI openness and OP, whereas it negatively moderates the impact of outbound OI openness on OP. By contrast, competitive conflict management positively moderates the relationship between outbound OI openness on OP. Research limitations/implications Guided by RDT, this study explores the relationship between OI and OP and the moderating role of conflict management styles. However, it does not measure the level of resource dependence, which is among the future research directions for further validating the results of this study. Originality/value This study is among the first to investigate the impact of OI on OP in different conflict management styles. Findings suggest that choosing a suitable conflict management style may strengthen the positive effects of OI on OP.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how construction project managers’ conflict management styles (CMSs) affect project team resilience from the perspective of social identity theory. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design and collected paired data from 110 construction project managers and 474 employees in China. Based on the data collected, the authors tested the proposed hypotheses using hierarchical regression analysis. Findings The results show that a project manager’s cooperative CMS positively affects team resilience, and a project manager’s competitive and avoidant CMS negatively affects team resilience. Team followership plays a mediating role in this relationship. The team power distance moderates the effects of a project manager’s cooperative and avoidant CMSs on team followership. Originality/value This paper enriches the existing literature on conflict management in construction projects and have potential guiding significance and application value for team resilience management practices.

Management style and decision-making create an organization’s culture and influence its performance also in the pro-ecological dimension. Therefore, this paper’s originality lies in how it explores the effect of management style to inform our understanding of decision-making when using a sustainable approach. However, the cause-and-effect relations between decisions and management style remain vastly unexplored. The paper’s aim is to explore whether the management style serves as a basis for decision-making or if it is an effect of decisions. This research addresses a research question: is the management style a basis for decision-making or an effect of the decisions in a pro-ecological context? We used a comprehensive literature review by using inductive and deductive approaches to analyze the relations between decision-making and management style. The paper also illustrates how organizational culture images can inform accounts of business realities influencing organizations’ green strategies. The analogies followed relations between color symbol and guiding metaphor. The article presents a theoretical discussion on the influence of management style on decision-making in the organization, based on original literature research in pro-ecological strategy related decisions. As a result, a decision-making style model is proposed. This nonorthodox approach might open up new avenues of thought in the field of decision-making, management styles, and pro-ecological strategy. Theoretical and managerial implications and directions for future research are also addressed.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how a team leader’s conflict management style (CMS) affects team innovation performance (TIP) in entrepreneurial teams using a team emotion perspective. Design/methodology/approach It is proposed in this study that team passion mediates the impact of team leader’s CMSs on team performance, which is further moderated by team emotional intelligence (TEI). Then this study collected paired data from 105 teams including 105 team leaders and 411 team members to test the proposed model. Findings The results show that a team leader’s cooperative CMS has a significant positive impact on TIP and team passion further mediates the relationship between the team leader’s CMSs and TIP. The results also show that TEI moderates the relationship between the leader’s CMSs and team passion. Originality/value This study helps enriches the literature of conflict management by exploring the mechanisms through which a team leader’s CMSs affect team performance in entrepreneurial activities, and the findings of this study highlight the important role of team passion in this process. In addition, this study integrates the research on conflict management and the research on team passion in entrepreneurial teams to provide a new perspective to explore the dynamic process of entrepreneurial activities, which sheds light on the investigation of the important implications of effective conflict management in the entrepreneurship.

PurposeThe present study examines the relationship between personality traits (PTs) and conflict management styles (CMSs) directly and indirectly through leadership effectiveness (LE) in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative study employs a survey questionnaire to collect cross-sectional data from academic leaders of higher education institutes (HEIs) in Pakistan. The authors utilized 325 useable cases to conclude the results.FindingsThe findings through the structural equation model (SEM) resulted in a positive and significant effect of agreeableness (AGS) on integrating (ITG), avoiding (AVG), obliging (OBG), compromising (COG) and dominating (DOG) styles. Extraversion (EXN) positively and significantly affects ITG, OBG, DOG and COG. Emotional stability (EMSY) is a positive and significant predictor of ITG, AVG, OBG and COG. The conscientiousness (CNS) trait significantly and positively predicts ITG, OBG, DOG, COG and AVG. Likewise, openness (OPS) positively and significantly affects ITG, OBG, DOG and COG styles. On the other hand, EXN and OPS negatively and insignificantly affect AVG. Finally, EMSY is the negative and insignificant predictor of DOG among academic leaders.Practical implicationsThis study offers additional insights into understanding direct and indirect connections between PTs and CMSs through EL. It would support the development of effective policies and organizational setup to resolve and manage conflict and employees' behaviour. Finally, the findings would further enrich the worth of literature through another empirical confirmation.Originality/valueThis study offers the original contribution of PTs and CMSs among academic leaders in HEIs of Pakistan.

PurposeThe main objective of this work is to design a statistical multiple regression model that helps to empirically explain the impact of economic incentives, management style, emotional health and research activities on university professors in northern Mexico and their perception of happiness.Design/methodology/approachIn this research, the authors analysed the correlation between happiness perception and four independent variables divided into two dimensions: 1. individual dimensions: emotional health and research activities and 2. organisational dimensions: economic incentives and management styles. A questionnaire was developed, tested and analysed for this matter. The authors applied this instrument to 384 university professors of both genders among 1301 in the region.FindingsUsing correlational analysis, the authors confirm a strong and statically significant relationship between all variables. It is also no evidence of multicollinearity. Finally, by applying multiple regression analysis, it was accepted that all independent variables have significance in explaining the emergence of personal happiness (R2 = 42%). Finally, the predictive equation presents possible results with values that confirm the effectiveness of the theoretical model. Results indicate that happiness perception is related to independent variables, with economic incentives being the most vital relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThis study's limitations are that the novel perspective of the explanatory variables of economic incentives, emotional health, management style and research activities needs additional confirmatory studies. Therefore, the authors need to perform studies with new explanatory perspectives. Another limitation of the study may be considering a cross-sectional and not a longitudinal model. This study considered it more appropriate to analyse the explanatory variables that influence and are the outcome of happiness perception for the data collected. Finally, it is essential to highlight that this research has been conducted in an underdeveloped country. Thus, it should consider conducting subsequent confirmatory studies in similar settings and other types of economies, such as in a developed country.Practical implicationsThis paper explains the relevance of two-dimensional activities in the happiness perception of professors. As other studies mention, productivity is correlated to happiness, and production outcomes could be improved if the schools implement policies to promote this perception. Happiness could be a solid strategy to improve academic outcomes, and the results propose several actions to achieve this goal.Social implicationsThis paper addresses an important activity of professors from a perspective of happiness perception. Thus, putting the professor as the leading relevant agent in schools, the authors propose a multivariate analysis of the outcomes of professors' jobs. Both the schools and the professors have their own goals at their own levels. If policies are created based on persons, in this case, professors, to improve organizational goals, then it might profoundly impact social actions inside the schools.Originality/valueThis paper increases the literature on happiness perception studies and proposes the examination of the relationship between perceived personal happiness and dimensions that influence this perception; these are from two kinds: 1. individual dimensions: emotional health and research activities and 2. organisational dimensions: economic incentives and management styles, which is an original approach and open discussion to further new approaches to this study.

Agile information systems development (ISD) projects face the dilemma of control versus autonomy. Although autonomy benefits agile ISD, many projects in practice nevertheless feature project managers who exert control for more formal structure and guidance. To address this autonomy-control dilemma, prior research on traditional ISD highlights the need for control ambidexterity, which is the simultaneous execution of contrasting control activities. However, little is known about achieving control ambidexterity in agile ISD projects, and, in particular, how agile project managers dynamically adapt controls to changing contextual requirements. Our in-depth case study in the IT department of a multinational container shipping company that runs several Scrum ISD projects identifies four agile project management styles (Landscaper, Buddy, Detective, and Commander) and associated balanced practices for control ambidexterity. We also show how agile project managers blend or shift their styles in response to conflicts, revealing different levels of adherence to agile development principles. We contribute to the ISD control literature by reflecting on different forms of contextual and temporal control ambidexterity and theorizing how the interplay between control conflicts and underlying factors leads to varied ambidexterity forms. Furthermore, our insights suggest signaling theory should complement agency and stewardship theories to better understand agile ISD control.

Purpose Personality differences may be a major reason of conflict, as well as the perception of conflict and preference for handling that conflict. This study aims to explore the role of personality traits in determining conflict and performance. The authors also studied the moderated mediated relationship between personality and performance through conflict and conflict management styles. Design/methodology/approach A field survey was conducted with a sample of 153 employees to test the hypotheses. Findings As hypothesized, agreeable persons perceive less conflict and extraverts are more likely to use integrating, obliging, compromising and avoiding styles. Emotionally stable people opt for integrating style whereas neurotics opt for dominating style. Conscientiousness, openness and emotional stability have a direct effect on performance, but the interactions between conflict and conflict management styles determine the relationship between personality traits and performance. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional nature of data and somewhat reliable coefficients for personality measures reduce confidence in the results. Future research should use different or multiple measures of personality. Personality traits may be explored in view of the degree of each personality trait or interactions between personality traits. Practical implications People are sensitive about engaging in conflict and handling conflict differently because of their personality characteristics. The personality traits should, therefore, be understood and considered for conflict experience, conflict management and performance. Originality/value The paper adds to management research by investigating the relationship between personality traits, conflicts, conflict management styles and performance.