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1 – 10 of over 54000The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which formal logic can be applied to conflict analysis and resolution. It is motivated by the idea that conflicts can be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which formal logic can be applied to conflict analysis and resolution. It is motivated by the idea that conflicts can be understood as inconsistent sets of interests.
Design/methodology/approach
A simple propositional model, based on propositional logic, which can be used to analyze conflicts, has been introduced and four algorithms have been presented to generate possible solutions to a conflict. The model is illustrated by applying it to the conflict between the Obama administration and the Syrian Government in September 2013 over the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons programme.
Findings
The author shows how different solutions, such as compromises, minimally invasive solutions or solutions compatible with certain pre-defined norms, can be generated by the model. It is shown how the model can operate in situations where the game-theoretic model fails due to a lack of information about the parties’ utility values.
Research limitations/implications
The model can be used as a theoretical framework for future experimental research and/or to trace the course of particular conflict scenarios.
Practical implications
The model can be used as the basis for building software applications for conflict resolution practitioners, such as negotiators or mediators.
Originality/value
While the idea of using logic to analyse the structure of conflicts and generate possible solutions is not new to the field of conflict studies, the model presented in this paper provides a novel way of understanding conflicts for both researchers and practitioners.
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In spite of the large body of literature on success factors of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation, there is a need to explore its multinational dimension. The…
Abstract
Purpose
In spite of the large body of literature on success factors of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation, there is a need to explore its multinational dimension. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the conflict between parent and subsidiary on the process of ERP implementation in a multinational enterprise (MNE).
Design/methodology/approach
Using an interpretive case study methodology, this paper analyses the theoretical frameworks of parent-subsidiary conflict and applies them to interpret an in-depth case study and generate a set of managerial prescriptions.
Findings
Theoretical analysis and case evidence suggest that managing parent-subsidiary conflict is a critical success factor of ERP implementation in MNEs.
Research limitations/implications
This case relates to a diversified multinational group producing a variety of materials through subsidiaries. The data collection includes multiple sources in the company, and strong theoretical development provides a high level of generalizability. The paper shows that managers should consider the impact of conflict from the planning stages of any multinational ERP implementation.
Practical implications
A detailed set of practical managerial prescriptions is derived from case and theoretical analysis. These prescriptions provide guidance to multinational managers planning a successful global ERP rollout.
Originality/value
Although parent-subsidiary conflict is clearly a major factor in multinational ERP implementations, this topic has never been analysed in detail in the literature. This paper breaks new ground applying grounded theoretical frameworks of parent-subsidiary conflict to an implementation case, and providing managerial guidance for implementation decisions.
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Sajal Lahiri and Valerica Vlad
This paper aims to examine the role of outside peacekeepers in a bilateral conflict.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the role of outside peacekeepers in a bilateral conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors build upon a trade theoretic framework by incorporating disruptions due to war, which could affect directly the return to investment, both domestic and foreign, and by introducing explicitly peacekeeping forces into the model. Two countries are engaged in a war, with the purpose of capturing capital. A third country plays a dual role: it is the source of investments in the warring countries, and it deploys soldiers on ground for peacekeeping purposes. The authors consider the cases where the levels of foreign investments are exogenous and when they are endogenously determined by free mobility conditions. In the worst case, they find that foreign investment reduces conflict. In the case of endogenous foreign investments, they examine the effect of multilateral agreements where the two warring countries reduce their number of soldiers and the third increases the number of peacekeepers.
Findings
The authors find that the reform benefits all three countries and increases the level of foreign investments. They consider the cases of exogenous and endogenous foreign direct investment (FDI). In the first case, the authors examine the effect of an exogenous increase in FDI on the war equilibrium and find that it reduces the employment of soldiers in the warring countries and increases the size of the peacekeeping force. They also find that the first-best level of peacekeeping is larger than the equilibrium level. When FDI is endogenous, starting from the initial war equilibrium, they also examine the effect of a multilateral agreement in which the size of the peacekeeping force is increased by the third country and the two warring countries agree to reduce their war efforts. The authors find that the reform makes all three countries better off and increases the level of FDI.
Originality/value
The paper uses a theoretical model with third-party interventions in a bilateral war. It intends to shed light on some of the missing economic implications of peacekeeping. The paper introduces explicitly peacekeeping forces into the analysis and introduces a factor that represents a disruption to return on investment in both warring countries. The third country has a dual role; it provides investments in the warring countries and deploys soldiers for peacekeeping. Peacekeeping reduces the disruption mentioned above and affects the employment of soldiers by the warring countries. The authors find that a multilateral agreement in which the two warring countries reduce their war efforts and the third party increases its peacekeeping force can increase welfare in all three countries.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of four policy options for the international community to help resolve conflicts involving black diamonds: foreign aid, a tax…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of four policy options for the international community to help resolve conflicts involving black diamonds: foreign aid, a tax arms exports, a tax on blood diamond and a tax on diamond exports in general from the war zones.
Design/methodology/approach
A trade‐theoretic model of two open economies which are in conflict with each other was constructed. War efforts, which involve the use of soldiers and arms, are determined endogenously. The purpose of war is the capture of land containing a natural resource like diamond, but the costs are that lives are lost and production sacrificed. The capture of mining land helps to reinforce the war by using profits from the sale of the natural resource to purchase arms.
Findings
The paper identifies the role of the “protective” nature of arms, and of income effects of the policy instruments, on the results. For example, foreign aid is found, unambiguously, to increase war when the entire profit from the sale of blood diamond is used to buy arms. But, when the proportion of profits from blood diamond used to buy arms is chosen optimally, foreign aid increases war efforts when arms are significantly protective of soldiers' lives.
Social implications
This paper helps to understand conflicts, the resolutions of which have serious social implications for the conflict‐torn areas of the world.
Originality/value
This paper provides the international community with an analysis of policy options for dealing with blood diamond. It shows, for example, that controlling supply of arms can be as effective as discouraging the consumption of blood diamond.
Karen Jehn, Sonja Rispens, Karsten Jonsen and Lindred Greer
– The purpose of this paper is to build theory and present a model of the development of conflicts in teams.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to build theory and present a model of the development of conflicts in teams.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a conceptual model based on past theory and research.
Findings
The model brings a multi-level perspective to the process of intragroup conflict by showing the mechanisms by which an interpersonal, dyadic conflict can spread to other team members over time through a process of conflict contagion.
Originality/value
This study provides a new model for conflict escalation and it sheds light on factors which can either ameliorate or exacerbate the speed and extent of conflict contagion. The repercussions of different degrees of conflict involvement within a team are discussed.
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Lourdes Munduate, Juan Ganaza, José M. Peiró and Martin Euwema
Most studies of conflict handling styles in organizations analyze these styles separately. These studies assume that individuals are oriented towards the use of one of the styles…
Abstract
Most studies of conflict handling styles in organizations analyze these styles separately. These studies assume that individuals are oriented towards the use of one of the styles of conflict management. As a result, different styles are compared one by one as if they were independent. In contrast, from a more all‐embracing perspective people are seen as adopting configurations of styles. The interest in this alternative perspective lies in exploring the relations between these styles, how they combine and form patterns of conflict styles. This article presents an exploratory study that seeks to identify empirically the specific combinations of conflict handling styles that result in differentiated patterns within groups of managers. By using hierarchical and non‐hierarchical cluster analyses of a sample of managers, different patterns of conflict management were identified. The effectiveness of each of the resulting patterns was analyzed in terms of its influence on the parties' joint substantive outcomes and their mutual relationship. Results show that patterns using multiple conflict handling styles were more effective than patterns based on a single style.
Past research on team conflict has often conceptualized it as a collective phenomenon whereby members of the same team perceive similar levels of conflict. However, similarity in…
Abstract
Purpose
Past research on team conflict has often conceptualized it as a collective phenomenon whereby members of the same team perceive similar levels of conflict. However, similarity in perspectives can more often be the exception than the norm. As such, the purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of relationship conflict (RC) asymmetry on information elaboration and team performance. Additionally, I introduce a new construct: perception of team RC asymmetry and propose that it strengthens the positive effects of RC asymmetry.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 181 MBA students comprising 52 teams participated in the research. Students worked together for the duration of the semester to complete a team project that comprised 45% of their final grade. Surveys were administered at three points in time with performance measured at the end and other focal variables measured at the midpoint. Regression analyses and the PROCESS macro were used to examine a first stage moderated mediation model.
Findings
Results showed that RC asymmetry increased elaboration, which, in turn, improved team performance. The link between RC asymmetry and elaboration was moderated by the perception of team RC asymmetry.
Originality/value
The present research shows that to have a fuller understanding of RC one must consider the level of dispersion experienced by team members. Taking this approach has uncovered a way in which RC can actually benefit teams instead of lead to destructive outcomes.
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Lin Lu, Fan Zhou and Kwok Leung
Although the negative consequences of conflict in work settings have long been recognized, it is only in recent years that researchers have examined its positive effects, and the…
Abstract
Purpose
Although the negative consequences of conflict in work settings have long been recognized, it is only in recent years that researchers have examined its positive effects, and the majority of this research has been conducted at the group level. This paper aims to examine the positive effects of conflict on individual work behaviors by differentiating between task and relationship conflicts, as well as the moderating influence of two contextual variables.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with 166 pairs of supervisors and subordinates in China.
Findings
Results supported the hypotheses that task conflict is positively related to both innovative behaviors and knowledge sharing behaviors while relationship conflict is negatively related to both individual‐directed organizational citizenship and knowledge sharing behaviors. Support for innovation and reward system for relationship‐building functioned as contextual factors to moderate the relationships between task and relationship conflicts and the workplace behaviors studied.
Originality/value
The hypotheses proposed and most of the findings are original.
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Stephen D. McDowell and Philip E. Steinberg
Explores a number of the debates and justification used to support and advance non‐state governance of the Internet in the USA. Reviews public reports released leading up to the…
Abstract
Explores a number of the debates and justification used to support and advance non‐state governance of the Internet in the USA. Reviews public reports released leading up to the formation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Concludes that the scope herein is restricted to the jurisdictions and reasoning stated in the policy papers leading to the formation of the ICANN.
Vladimir Dzenopoljac, Chadi Yaacoub, Nasser Elkanj and Nick Bontis
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to fill a gap in the intellectual capital (IC) literature by providing insights into the relationship between IC and corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to fill a gap in the intellectual capital (IC) literature by providing insights into the relationship between IC and corporate performance among Arab companies and second, to challenge the validity of the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) as a measure of IC’s contribution to performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The research sample included 100 publicly traded Arab companies selected by Forbes Middle East and ranked as top performers in terms of sales, profits, assets, and market value. The methodology included assessing the impact of IC components on company earnings, profitability, efficiency, and market performance for the period between 2011 and 2015. Research hypotheses were tested through the presentation of descriptive statistics, normality tests, correlation matrix, and multiple regression models.
Findings
The research yielded ambiguous results. Earnings and profitability were significantly affected by structural and physical capital; efficiency was determined primarily by physical capital; and market performance was mainly influenced by human capital.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the research comes from disadvantages of VAIC as the measure of IC’s contributions to performance.
Originality/value
The paper fills a void in the study of IC and corporate performance among Arab companies.
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