I, We and You: A Study of Relationship of Individualism-Collectivism and Conflict Management Styles
Paper presented at 29th Annual International Association for Conflict Management (IACM), Columbia University, New York, USA (July 2016)
27 Pages Posted: 5 Oct 2017
Date Written: January 4, 2016
Abstract
The all-pervading and inevitable conflict is debated a lot in organizational studies. Many researchers study the relationship of conflict management styles and cultural dimensions specifically with individualism – collectivism. But these studies deal the culture at a national level aggregately. Hofstede’s demarcation of cultures in to individualistic and collectivistic cultures is the basic pillar of such studies in cross cultural comparisons of conflict management styles. In this study, an attempt was made to relate individualism – collectivism with conflict management styles at individual levels as all people in a presumed collectivistic/individualistic culture are not collectivists/ individualists. The study provided empirical support and evidences that individualism and collectivism has a substantial relationship with preferred styles of conflict management of at the sub-cultural for six subcultures of Pakistan. The study found that conflict management style is associated with individual cultural values orientation for the working class of Pakistan.
Keywords: Individualism-Collectivism, Conflict Management Styles, Sub-Cultures, Cultural Values, Dual Concern Model, Hofstede Cultural Model, Dynamic Culture Model
JEL Classification: J52, J53, D74
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation