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Abstract
Two meta-theoretical traditions mark research on conflict resolution in organizations: the rationalist tradition, which portrays organizations as goal-directed collectivities and conflict resolution as a threat to efficiency and performance; and the cultural tradition, which portrays organizations as normative collectivities constituted by ongoing social interaction, interpretive dynamics, and institutional environments, and emphasizes the interplay of law and social inequalities in interpersonal and collective organizational conflict resolution. Within these traditions, we distinguish between structural and processual styles of research, noting the empirical methods favored in each tradition, research that blurs the boundaries between the traditions, and vanguard scholarship. Finally, we discuss several potential areas of research that could enhance meaningful intellectual exchange between the traditions.