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The main aim of this study is to explore the motivational process behind two types of forgiveness – i.e. true and hollow forgiveness. It is predicted that victims who engage in true forgiving behavior will have stronger relationship‐oriented motives than either those who engage in hollow forgiving behavior or those who do not engage in forgiving behavior. Furthermore, the authors seek to explore the relationship between true and hollow forgiveness and conflict resolution strategy.

In Study 1, participants were asked to recall personal experiences of being harmed, and they rated the events in terms of forgiveness, motives of forgiveness, resolutions strategies, and satisfaction with outcome. In Study 2, participants were presented with scenarios depicting individuals who were victimized, and were asked to read the scenarios, imagining themselves as the victim. Following this forgiveness, motives of forgiveness, resolution strategies, and satisfaction with outcome were measured.

Consistent with the predictions, participants classified as being true forgivers were motivated by relationship‐oriented motives. These individuals preferred a collaborative conflict resolution strategy, and tended to be satisfied with the outcome of the conflict. In contrast, participants classified as being hollow forgivers were motivated by self‐oriented reasons, and they preferred avoidance as a conflict resolution strategy. In addition, these individuals were less satisfied with the outcome of the conflict than were the true forgivers.

These findings suggest that perceptions of the conflict resolution process depend on the type of forgiveness.

The purpose of this article is to explore the three types of water-based recreationists' (nonmotorized, motorized, and dual participants) perception on recreation conflict as well as their use of coping mechanisms and further understand the influence of specialization level on their choice of coping mechanism. Recreationists were divided into three groups based on the concept of experience use history. Data were collected between June and September 2007 at entry of five intra-site water recreation areas with every five individuals selected. Study findings partly supported the predictive relationships. Among all three groups (motorized, nonmotorized, and dual participants), less conflict was reported for nonmotorized participants than motored participants. Moreover, the data also suggest that coping mechanisms are widely employed in outdoor recreation. Implications for future research and practice were discussed.

This paper aims to examine the occurrence and management of conflict in Chinese organizations, from an emic perspective. The authors provide an in-depth understanding of Chinese working adults’ lived experiences regarding workplace conflicts.

The study is a qualitative one, consisting of open-ended questionnaires administered to 55 Chinese nationals who worked in governmental, public or international organizations in China. A thematic analysis of the answers was conducted.

Chinese participants adopted a normative mental model that defined their preferred “way of doing” things. A skillful balance was expected in conflict management that incorporated integrated open communication and strategic silence. Chinese working adults emphasized maturity in the workplace and the recognition of shared goals.

The online questionnaire format may have constrained participants’ responses. Also, the data were collected from various organizational contexts, but there were not enough participants from each type of organization so that comparisons between institutions could be made.

The results could help expatriate populations better prepare their lives abroad in China. Also, the findings could aid organizational or management consultants who work closely with Chinese partners.

The findings enhance our understanding of how Chinese working adults deal with workplace conflicts and the circumstances in which conflicts arise in the workplace, which also reflected the social and cultural contexts of the Chinese workplace experience.

This study provides an alternative interpretation of workplace conflicts and their management in China that is anchored in the unique organizational and national cultural context. They constitute the base for future development of culture-based explanations of Chinese organizational conflict behaviors.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of asymmetric perceptions of task conflict (i.e. one person experiencing more conflict than the other) on the anticipated relationship with the partner, as well as subjective and objective performance.

In a 2 × 2 between-participants experimental design, we manipulated participants’ perception of task conflict (perceive task conflict vs does not perceive task conflict) and the perceptual conflict composition of their group (asymmetry vs symmetry). Participants were randomly allocated to each of the four experimental conditions. Eighty-four psychology students at a Dutch university participated (25 men and 59 women; average age = 21).

Results show that when individuals realize that they have asymmetric task conflict perceptions, they have lower expectations about having a positive relationship with their partner and perform worse compared to when they have symmetric task perceptions (i.e. both experiencing either low or high levels of conflict).

Past research on conflict has not often taken into account that individuals involved in a conflict can experience different amounts of conflict. By conducting an experimental study, in contrast to past research on conflict asymmetry, we can better understand the causal relationship between (a)symmetry of conflict and outcomes. We also provide insight into the mediating chain that examines how conflict asymmetry interferes with work processes and leads to negative work outcomes.

This study employed a scenario method to test the hypotheses of the multiple goals theory. One hundred and seven Japanese students were asked to read the scenarios that described a conflict between two people and to consider themselves as the one of whom an economic cost was unreasonably requested by the other. Four situational variables (resource cost, familiarity between the two persons, the other person's manner, and the other person's tactic) were presented in the scenarios. In addition, a set of scales to measure four different goals (relationship, identity, justice, and resource) were included, as well as two types of mitigative tactics (integrative and appeasing), and two types of confrontational tactics (assertive and aggressive). A basic hypothesis of the theory—that social goals would be activated even in resource conflicts—was supported. It was also found that familiarity activated relationship goals, which increased mitigative tactics and compliance, but decreased confrontational tactics, and that a resource cost activated resource goals, which increased both mitigative and confrontational tactics, but decreased compliance.

The professional development of novice teachers is receiving increased attention. Although conflict is regarded as an essential factor affecting the effectiveness of the school professional learning community, it is often hidden unspokenly. This study uncovers the conflict experiences of female novice teachers in an Asian cultural context and investigates how such experiences influence their professional development and emotions.

The case study approach was adopted. Four participants were selected according to specific criteria, and two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted in five years to identify the conflicting parties, conflict types, coping strategies and resulting impact.

Longitudinal qualitative data have revealed that female novice English language teaching (ELT) teachers mainly reported conflicts with their female colleagues. Goal, task and relationship conflict are the most common types of conflict encountered, while the strategies of avoiding, dominating and obliging are the most popular. This study also discusses the impacts of such conflict experiences.

This study identifies the influence of culture, particularly a culture of high power distance and an emphasis on “precious harmony”, on novice female teachers' conflict coping and offers insights into how conflict can be utilised to enhance novice teachers' professional development in the school professional learning community.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of inter-organizational conflicts on the project added value in the Chinese construction industry, and also to examine the mediating effect of conflicts on project added value and the moderating effect of conflict management strategies.

A conceptual model was developed, and a structured questionnaire survey was conducted with 667 professionals. The structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze the data.

The results showed that task conflict, relationship conflict and process conflict were influenced by subject characteristics of project participants, bilateral relationship characteristics and project characteristics. Similarly, these three types of conflicts interact with each other. Meanwhile, these three types of conflicts influence the added value in construction projects, which are moderated by conflict management strategies. Under a collaborating strategy, task conflict and process conflict were positively associated with project added value, and relationship conflict was negatively associated with project added value. Under a competing strategy, task conflict, process conflict and relationship conflict were negatively associated with added value in construction projects. Therefore, the constructive and destructive effects of conflicts on project added value under different conflict management strategies are verified in Chinese construction projects.

The variables may not be exhaustive for construction projects and most of them were applied in construction projects for the first time. As a result, their rationality and effectiveness could be further improved. The results implied that inter-organizational conflicts had a constructive effect on project added value and should attract broad attention for future research. Additionally, different driving factors had different influences on these conflicts, and even the driving factors can be divided into different dimensions.

This study provides a better understanding of the relationship between inter-organizational conflicts and added value in construction projects, and a reliable reference for the project manager to effectively deal with these conflicts. In addition, this research reveals the effects of conflicts on project added value and the path of conflicts transformation. This provides a useful reference for project managers to take advantage of the positive effect of task conflict and process conflict, and to avoid the negative effect of relationship conflict.

Very few studies attempted to examine the effects of inter-organizational conflicts on project added value in construction projects. Therefore, this research makes significant theoretical and practical contributions to the existing body of knowledge on the conflict management and project added value. This research provides an empirical evidence to support the viewpoint that different types of conflicts can be mutually transformed. Similarly, this study explains how conflicts present functional and dysfunctional effects in construction projects. Both of them are potential theoretical contributions to the existing body of knowledge.

This study examines the relationship between gender and religious affiliation to the preferred conflicts styles of 384 student participants living in and attending university in South Africa, Israel, Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Northern Ireland. Participants report living in stressful social contexts that are often characterized by reports of terrorism perpetrated by paramilitaries, the state, violence that is brought on by long standing ethnic hatreds and years of division between major groups contending for control of political and social institutions, civilian uprisings, and in some cases low scale civil war. The results indicate that the independent variables—gender and religion—provide statistically significant observable differences in how people report they engage in conflict as seen in their choice of conflict styles. In particular, the findings on gender differences provide a surprising result that is partially attributed to the contextual factors of warfare and one's active participation in it. The results on religious affiliation provide a number of intriguing patterns among various religions including a desire to accommodate or collaborate with others and a strong dislike of avoidance. There are other more specific patterns that can be partially attributed to contextual factors as well. With so many contexts being present in the study a number of intriguing explanations and working hypotheses are brought forth to help explain why these patterns on gender and religious affiliation exist.

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.

This study aims to explore the experience of performing androgynous leadership approaches by New Zealand women leaders within the context of everyday conflict situations.

The research question “How do women leaders experience gender in conflict situations?” was explored through the facilitation of 4 focus groups with 19 senior female leaders in New Zealand. Poststructural discourse analysis was used to explore how participants negotiated positions of power within their environments and in accordance with competing gendered discourses.

Participants described taking a flexible, balanced, androgynous leadership approach to managing conflict situations. While the expectations to be “empathetic”, “sympathetic”, “gentle”, “nurturing” and “caring” resonated with the participants preferred approach, they remained firm that if conflict persisted, they would “cross the line” and adopt stereotypically masculine behaviours to resolve the situation. However, participants describe that when perceived to be crossing the line from feminine to masculine approaches, they experienced significant backlash. This demonstrates the tensions between the approaches women leaders would like to take in managing conflict and the experiences of doing so within a prescriptively gendered organisational context.

This research contributes to a gap which exists in understanding how gender is experienced from the viewpoint of the woman leader. This research presents a nuanced view of gendered leadership as a contested ground, rather than a series of strategic choices. Despite an increase in the acceptance of women into leadership positions, the authors seemingly remain bound by what is considered a “feminine” leader.