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The purpose of this study sets out to examine (1) how have conflicts been conceptualized and operationalized within the context of online consumption communities? (2) what are the main conflict management, resolution strategies and frameworks that have been identified? and (3) what are the gaps in the relevant body of work in terms of theoretical and methodological dimensions, and what implications do they have for future research.

This study adopts a systematic and multidisciplinary literature review of online conflicts. Following a descriptive and thematic content analysis, it examines 79 peer-reviewed scholarly articles of the past 20 years within 6 scientific databases.

The authors propose a literature-based conceptualization of online conflicts and a multi-level conflict resolution matrix based on the different governance structures and social control mechanisms investigated in extant research.

The originality of this study lies in the integrative and interdisciplinary view of online conflict in global consumption communities.

Drawing on sensemaking and emotion regulation research, the purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize core contributor withdrawal (CCW) in the context of online peer-production communities (OPPCs). To explain the underlying mechanisms that make core contributors withdraw from these communities, the authors propose a process theory of contributor withdrawal called the core contributor withdrawal theory (CCWT).

To support CCWT, a typology of unmet expectations of online communities is presented, which uncovers the cognitive and emotional processing involved. To illustrate the efficacy of CCWT, a case study of the English version of Wikipedia is provided as a representative OPPC.

CCWT identifies sensemaking and emotion regulation concerning contributors’ unmet expectations as causes of CCW from OPPCs, which first lead to declined expectations, burnout and psychological withdrawal and thereby to behavioral withdrawal.

CCWT clearly identifies how and why important participation transitions, such as from core contributor to less active contributor or non-contributor, take place. By adopting process theories, CCWT provides a nuanced explanation of the cognitive and affective events that take place before core contributors withdraw from OPPCs.

CCWT highlights the challenge of online communities shifting from recruiting new contributors to preventing loss of existing contributors in the maturity stage. Additionally, by identifying the underlying cognitive and affective processes that core contributors experience in response to unexpected events, communities can develop safeguards to prevent or correct cognitions and emotions that lead to withdrawal.

CCWT provides a theoretical framework that accounts for the negative cognitions and affects that lead to core contributors’ withdrawal from online communities. It furthers the understanding of what motivates contributing to and what leads to withdrawal from OPPC.

The purpose of this article is to analyze how learning occurs in inter-organizational online communities, despite highly diverse even conflicting knowledge claims among participants.

We compared two inter-organizational communities in the domain of development aid through inductive qualitative case study.

We found that diverse communities proved more likely to yield conflicting knowledge claims in terms of expertise, value consensus and formal position. However, they were also better positioned for enabling mutual learning, than communities with a more uniform representation.

We provide theoretical insights for knowledge management by showing how the negotiation of knowledge claims facilitates mutual learning in inter-organizational online communities.

The findings are practically relevant for managers of knowledge-intensive organizations by showing how knowledge is shared in diverse online communities. The research also shows that the recognized challenges which diverse communities can yield are likely to be outweighed by their benefits: enabling mutual learning, generating useful expertise and a stronger negotiating position.

The paper conceives of a development approach that is more inclusive of non-dominant perspectives and solutions in decision-making processes, contributing to improved participation of marginalized people in decision-making processes.

We add a new dimension to knowledge management literature, showing how conflict and learning can be a mutually reinforcing process. Contrary to prior knowledge-based views, we found that a diverse community, with a higher concentration of conflicting knowledge claims, facilitated mutual learning more adeptly than a more uniform community. This is important for knowledge management theory and practice because it shows how inter-organizational communities can benefit from heterogeneity, and how conflict can enable and even strengthen mutual learning.

After reviewing the logic and basics of Environmental Conflict Resolution (ECR), this article analyzes the praise for and criticisms of ECR. This article acknowledges the initial successes in the 1970s and 1980s that led to a major period of expansion for ECR, and continues today, but argues that it must do a better job of proving itself. That is, proponents must conduct more rigorous assessments of its utility under different conditions and invest in data collection that goes far beyond present efforts. The article concludes by reviewing the challenges and opportunities facing ECR in the twenty-first century. Singled out for attention is the need for scholars and practitioners to understand ECR interventions as targeted at aggregate rather than dyadic relationships, as complex systems embedded in even larger complex systems, as time-extended phenomena, and as ripe for evaluation for their impact on substantive environmental outcomes.

This study operationalizes risks in stakeholder dialog (SD). It conceptualizes SD as co-produced organizational discourse and examines the capacities of organizers' and stakeholders' practices to create a shared understanding of an organization’s risks to their mutual benefit. The meetings and online forum of a German public service media (PSM) organization were used as a case study.

The authors applied corpus-driven linguistic discourse analysis (topic modeling) to analyze citizens' (n = 2,452) forum posts (n = 14,744). Conversation analysis was used to examine video-recorded online meetings.

Organizers suspended actors' reciprocity in meetings. In the forums, topics emerged autonomously. Citizens' articulation of their identities was more diverse than the categories the organizer provided, and organizers did not respond to the autonomous emergence of contextualizations of citizens' perceptions of PSM performance in relation to their identities. The results suggest that risks arise from interactionally achieved occasions that prevent reasoned agreement and from actors' practices, which constituted autonomous discursive formations of topics and identities in the forums.

This study disentangles actors' practices, mutuality orientation and risk enactment during SD. It advances the methodological knowledge of strategic communication research on SD, utilizing social constructivist research methods to examine the contingencies of organization-stakeholder interaction in SD.

This paper aims to build a legal intelligent auxiliary discretionary system for predicting the penalty and damage compensation values. After extensively considering current the characteristics of the current Chinese legal system, a practical legal intelligent auxiliary discretionary system based on genetic algorithm-backpropagation (GA-BP) neural network (NN) is proposed herein.

An experiment is designed to analyze cases involving mental anguish compensation in medical disputes, and a Chinese legal intelligent auxiliary discretionary adviser system is built based on a GA-BP NN. Because BP neural networks perform well for nonlinear problems and GAs can improve their ability to find optimal values, and accelerate their convergence, a combined GA–BP algorithm is used. In addition, an ontology is used to reduce the semantic ambiguities and extract the implied semantic information.

We confirm that a case-based legal intelligent auxiliary discretionary adviser system based on a GA-BP NN and ontology techniques has good performance in prediction. By predicting the mental anguish compensation values, the legal intelligent auxiliary discretionary adviser system can help judges to handle cases more quickly and ordinary people to discover the suggested compensation or penalty. In contrast to BP NN or SVM, the result seems more close to the actual compensation rate.

Recently, smart court has been developed in China; the purpose of which is to build the legal advice system for improving judicial justice and reducing differences in sentencing. A practical legal advice system is an urgent requirement for the judiciary.

This paper presents a study of a case-based legal intelligent auxiliary discretionary adviser system based on a GA-BP NN and ontology techniques. The findings offer advice to optimize legal intelligent auxiliary discretionary adviser systems for mental anguish compensation in medical disputes.

Investigates the differences in protocols between arbitral tribunals and courts, with particular emphasis on US, Greek and English law. Gives examples of each country and its way of using the law in specific circumstances, and shows the variations therein. Sums up that arbitration is much the better way to gok as it avoids delays and expenses, plus the vexation/frustration of normal litigation. Concludes that the US and Greek constitutions and common law tradition in England appear to allow involved parties to choose their own judge, who can thus be an arbitrator. Discusses e‐commerce and speculates on this for the future.

Team-based projects are being used at work in various industries and in education. This paper aims to share a training strategy that integrates training with casual games to effectively prepare individuals to perform better in team-based settings due to their acquisition of team skills combined with their knowledge of tools including a team charter, communication plan and conflict resolution plan.

A training module was developed, deployed and tested in a virtual classroom of an upper-level undergraduate business class to emulate real-world team experiences. In the study, 342 of the 631 participants enrolled chose to complete the optional training module, which included pre- and posttests followed by a perception survey. A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the impact of the training upon team skills including communication, conflict resolution and feelings of belonging.

The pre- and posttest results for trainees indicated a significant increase in team process and development knowledge, which included concepts such as communication, conflict resolution methods, roles, goal-setting and expectation-setting. Survey results indicated a correlation between completing the team training module and improved communication within teams, particularly for teams developing a communication plan in addition to a team charter and conflict resolution strategies.

This research contributes to the literature on preparing individuals for success in teams through training and education using interactive games, while equipping them with tools to contribute to favorable team dynamics and outcomes. The results are applicable to business, organizations and training settings that incorporate team-based projects in online, hybrid and face-to-face settings.

The purpose of this paper is first, to explore communicative practice in conflict resolution in its unitary and pluralistic forms; and second, to highlight ways in which interpersonal conflict negotiation and resolution may be recapitulated in organisational or international experiences of conflict resolution.

The methods of research are qualitative discourse analysis in the new critical paradigm. The approach to the topic is one of reflective interlocution of defined topic areas.

A tension exists between unitary and pluralistic components of rational arguments in organisational communication. This is observable in the claims to relational authenticity in both scientific arguments and in the management of conflict negotiations. The main drivers of this tension are the scalability of arguments and the contexts in which they occur. Determining the ontological validity and mutually understood “reference points” of participant perspectives are essential in reaching understandings that have elements of successful communication, clarity and mutuality.

The research is theoretical in design and mimetically reflects developments in pedagogy and practice in its designated area.

Scientists, media commentators need to be mindful of argumentational bias. Conflict resolution negotiators will have a better understanding of the ethical dynamics of their interaction and processes.

As the title suggests, the article highlights tensions between the unitary and pluralistic components of rational arguments and conflict resolution in organisational communication.

The originality and value of the paper is its analysis and juxtaposition of the communication ethics of rational arguments used by scientists, and conflict resolution negotiators.