Conceptual Approaches to Treatment of the Essence of Conflict as an Economic Category

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the work is to study the essence of conflict as an economic category through the prism of the existing conceptual issues.

Methodology

The authors use the systemic approach for comprehensive, structured, and dynamic study of socio-economic systems. Within this approach, the method of classification is used, with the help of which the existing conceptual approaches to treatment of the essence of conflict as an economic category are determined and limited, and the method of comparative analysis, with the help of which the distinguished approaches are compared to each other. The information and analytical basis of the research is materials of the works of international authors on the issues of conceptual study of the essence of conflict as an economic category.

Conclusions

As a result of the research, it is determined that conflict – as an economic category – is described in detail by the concepts of the modern economic theory (e.g., the concept of state regulation of economy, the concept of innovations, and the concept of economic cycles) and is the object of a lot of research. At the same time, conflict – as an economic category – is studied fragmentarily within three alternative approaches – inter-subject, adaptive, and crisis, each of which focuses on a certain manifestation of conflict in economy: contradiction of interests of economic subjects with their interaction, lack of desire of economic subjects to adapt to changes, and failure in the socio-economic system. Within each of the above conceptual approaches to treatment of the essence of conflict as an economic category, reasons and consequences of conflicts are given, and specific managerial tools are offered.

Originality/value

Systemic study of conflict as an economic category, which unified all distinguished approaches, allowed determining conflict as a negative reaction of the economic system or its economic subjects to changes in economic reality, which is expressed at all levels of this system and is subject to management. The offered definition allows specifying the essence of the conflict of economic category and ensuring its systemic research.

Citation

Litvinova, T.N. (2019), "Conceptual Approaches to Treatment of the Essence of Conflict as an Economic Category", Popkova, E.G. (Ed.) “Conflict-Free” Socio-Economic Systems, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 5-11. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78769-993-920191002