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Social systems devise rules for member conduct and often specify punitive action for nonconformity. However, confronting and signaling the intent to punish a rule violator may be an inherently face‐threatening and volatile situation. As such, in this paper we seek to add to the research aimed at minimizing the negative effects of confrontation. We conducted an experiment to examine the impact of linguistic cues and coercive potential on message categorization and on receiver perceptions of threat and face‐sensitivity. Results suggest that threats might be considered a special class of warnings, distinguishable by a speaker‐based locus of punishment Locus of punishment did not, however, impact perceptions of having been warned. These findings thus call into question the assumed parallelism between researcher conceptualizations of threats and warnings and those of typical language‐users. Additionally, targets reported feeling less threatened and perceived more face‐sensitivity, in cases when the speaker was not the source of punishment. Perceptions of threat were decreased when disclaimers were employed and where the message originated from a peer rather than an authority. Power of speech had an impact in ambiguous situations. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Although relational commitment increases the likelihood that intimates will confront each other about relational problems, commitment may promote decisions to withhold complaints in some circumstances. We conducted a survey of undergraduate daters that focused on the conditions under which relational commitment prompts individuals to express or withhold relational complaints. As expected, we documented a positive association between relational commitment and the willingness to confront a partner; the magnitude of this association was stronger among respondents who had dated for less than a year compared to those who had been involved for a longer time. Despite this general trend, we also found that relational commitment was positively associated with withholding grievances because the respondent believed that the problem was minor and perceived the partner would not change. Finally, we observed an interaction between relational commitment and partner's supportiveness when predicting the number of complaints withheld. Among individuals who were not very committed to their relationships, the association between partner supportiveness and the number of irritations withheld was negative and statistically significant. Among highly committed respondents, the same association was positive and not significant.

Individuals sometimes feel compelled to confront a rule‐violator. Because the goal of a confrontation is to stop the objectionable action, the violator may feel that his or her autonomy is being threatened and may resist complying. To reduce the likelihood of negative outcomes, confronters are advised to engage in discourse that makes them appear face‐sensitive. However, we argue that the authority of a speaker and the type of directive (imperative or suggestion) that is spoken interact so as to affect the degree of face‐sensitivity attributed to a confronter. We conducted an experiment to test this notion. Consistent with our position, authorities are perceived as more sensitive when expressing suggestions and are attributed coercive potential regardless of the directive enacted Peers, however, are attributed greater coercive potential when communicating imperatives, while face‐sensitivity is unaffected by the type of directive. Implications for confrontation are discussed.

The paper seeks to investigate the characteristics of irresolvable interpersonal conflicts by comparing irresolvable conflicts to resolvable and resolved conflicts on each of Coleman's common social psychological factors associated with intractable conflicts.

Undergraduate students were randomly assigned to complete questionnaires about an irresolvable conflict, a resolvable conflict, or a resolved conflict. Participants reported on conflicts in romantic or parental relationships.

Three of Coleman's factors distinguished irresolvable interpersonal conflicts: length of conflict; hopelessness; and resistance to resolution. Three factors did not: issue centrality; conflict pervasiveness; and motivation to harm.

The participants in this study were college undergraduates. Because we asked participants to report on conflicts in romantic or parental relationships, this study does not include irresolvable conflicts that might occur in other relationships. The measures employed in this study were self‐created and tested for the first time in this investigation. Future research should replicate this study with a more representative sample, focus on the role of communication or individual sense‐making processes, and investigate how, if ever, these conflicts end or are resolved.

This study indicates that similarities exist between intractable and irresolvable interpersonal conflicts. However, irresolvable interpersonal conflicts in ongoing relationships have unique identifying processes associated relational maintenance despite conflict.

To the authors' knowledge, no other research has thoroughly investigated irresolvable interpersonal conflicts. Research on intractable conflicts provides some insight into these conflicts, but our preliminary results indicate that irresolvable interpersonal conflicts likely should not be categorized with other types of intractable conflicts.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on three organizational support factors that could potentially improve organizational commitment among downsizing survivors.

Using a sample of 2,751 employees, a secondary analysis of employee survey data examined the hypotheses that customer service orientation (CSO) and equity would moderate the strength of the two‐way interaction between perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived supervisor support (PSS) when predicting organizational commitment among downsizing survivors. In this way, the impact of CSO (H1) or equity (H2) would be stronger when POS and PSS were low. A third hypothesis (H3) examined whether survivors' organizational tenure was positively related to organizational commitment.

H1 and H2 were partially confirmed, indicating that CSO compensated most when PSS was low and that equity compensated most when POS was low among downsizing survivors. H3 was not confirmed as no positive correlation was found between survivors' increased organizational tenure and organizational commitment.

The sample was drawn from one US organization and, because this was a secondary analysis, established scales could not be used for some constructs. Most of the variance in the exploratory factor analysis was on the first factor, POS.

Organizations should make every attempt to maintain or increase survivors' CSO and equity in order to improve organizational commitment. In addition, organizations cannot necessarily rely on their longer‐tenured employees to stay committed after a downsizing.

The study uncovered two previously unknown findings regarding the importance of CSO and equity to the organizational commitment of survivors.

This article aims to examine how situational constraints impact clients' valuations of the task and socio‐emotional resources exchanged when interacting with consultants. In consultant‐client relationships, the emphasis on economic resources has commodified these interactions into explicit exchanges of time, money, and deliverables.

A total of five hypotheses were tested using a within‐subjects experimental design. Subjects consisted of 110 adult professionals who were presented with five different scenarios in a random sequence and asked to rank order and evaluate a list of professional‐service resources.

The valuation of resources was found to change when situational constraints were present. Regardless of the context, task resources were generally valued more than socio‐emotional resources. When relational constraints were salient, socio‐emotional resources were valued more in long‐term than short‐term relationships. When faced with time pressure or budgetary constraints, task needs were valued more than socio‐emotional needs.

There is potential bias due to snowball sampling, and the hypothetical nature of the experimental scenarios limits the generalizability of this study.

For clients, this research indicates that the context surrounding consultant‐client interactions plays an important role in shaping clients' valuation of resources, both individually and collectively. For consultants, these findings suggest that a “one‐size‐fits‐all” strategy is not the most effective way to approach consultant‐client interactions.

This study contributes to our knowledge about how situational constraints impact clients' valuation of the task and socio‐emotional resources offered by consultants.

Because of their relationship‐oriented values, avoiding conflict is thought to be particularly prevalent and appropriate in collectivist societies like China Although research in the West has assumed that avoiding conflict is one approach and a largely ineffective one, collectivists may use conflict avoidance in different ways, including protecting the other protagonist. Eighty‐five managers and employees in six State Owned Enterprises in South China described concrete incidents when they avoided conflict and responded to specific items to measure the prior relationship, motivation, strategies, and consequences. Results identify major motivations and strategies used in conflict avoidance. Findings indicate that Chinese managers and employees relied upon the other person, promoted task productivity, and strengthened the relationship when they had a prior strong relationship and cooperative goals. Cooperative goals and fear of revenge were both found to underlie outflanking (trying to work around the other). Results were interpreted as indicating that avoiding conflict can be useful and even reaffirm an already effective relationship, but like open conflict, it must be managed constructively.

The purpose of this research is to focus on organizational support factors that facilitate organizational commitment among downsizing survivors. High attrition by employees who “survive” layoffs is common and costly.

Using a sample of 2,751 employees, a secondary analysis of employee survey data examined the effects of perceived organizational support (POS), perceived supervisor support (PSS), and gender on downsizing survivors' organizational commitment.

Findings indicate that organizational commitment is positively related to both POS and PSS, with POS accounting for a greater increment of variance. When predicting organizational commitment subsequent to a downsizing, POS and PSS compensate for each other in that: POS moderates the association between PSS and organizational commitment, such that the relationship becomes stronger as the level of POS decreases; and PSS moderates the association between POS and organizational commitment, such that the relationship becomes weaker as the level of PSS increases. Gender moderates the two‐way interaction between POS and PSS when predicting organizational commitment such that the interaction is stronger among men than for women.

The effect sizes associated with the interactions are small and because this was a secondary analysis, we could not use established scales for some constructs. Also, the sample was drawn from one USA organization and may not generalize to other organizational settings.

The items contained in our scales suggest multiple ways that organizations can make their employees feel more supported in terms of both POS and PSS.

This study found a previously unknown interaction among POS and PSS that was moderated by gender.

This study tested a structural equations model of the five French and Raven bases of supervisory power (coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent), styles of handling conflict with supervisor (problem solving and bargaining), and job performance. Employees (N = 1,116) completed questionnaires on power and conflict styles, and their job performance was evaluated by their respective supervisors (N = 398). The data were aggregated for the subordinates associated with a given manager (N = 398) to make sure that independent observation assumption is not violated. The LISREL 8 analysis of data indicates that legitimate power influenced referent power positively and coercive power negatively, and reward and legitimate powers positively influenced expert power, which in turn, positively influenced referent power. Referent power, in turn, positively influenced problem solving (i.e., using more integrating and less avoiding styles) and negatively influenced bargaining (i.e., using more dominating and less obliging styles) conflict‐management styles, and finally, problem solving style, but not bargaining style, positively influenced job performance.

The management of organizational conflict involves the diagnosis of and intervention in affective and substantive conflicts at the interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup levels and the styles (strategies) used to handle these conflicts. A diagnosis should indicate whether there is need for an intervention and the type of intervention needed. In general, an intervention is designed (a) to attain and maintain a moderate amount of substantive conflict in nonroutine tasks at various levels, (b) to reduce affective conflict at all levels, and (c) to enable the organizational members to select and use the appropriate styles of handling conflict so that various situations can be effectively dealt with. Organizational learning and effectiveness can be enhanced through an appropriate diagnosis of and process and structural interventions in conflict.