Is conflict adaptivity better than cooperation? The effects of adaptive conflict behaviors on job‐related well‐being in South Korea

• Published date: 01 March 2021
• Author: Regina Kim,Peter T. Coleman,Katharina G. Kugler
• Date: 01 March 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21291

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Is conflict adaptivity better than cooperation?

The effects of adaptive conflict behaviors

on job-related well-being in South Korea

Regina Kim

1

| Peter T. Coleman

2

| Katharina G. Kugler

3

1

Department of People, Organizations,

and Negotiation, IESEG School of

Management, Paris, France

2

Morton Deutsch International Center for

Cooperation and Conflict Resolution,

Teachers College, Columbia University,

New York, New York

3

Department of Psychology, Ludwig-

Maximilians-University Muenchen,

Munich, Germany

Correspondence

Regina Kim, Department of People,

Organizations, and Negotiation, IESEG

School of Management, 1 Parvis de La

Défense, 92044 Paris, France.

Email: r.kim1@ieseg.fr

Abstract

Given the pervasiveness of conflict at work and its

potential negative consequences, it is important to know

how managers can deal with conflicts constructively.

Employees and managers are often required to navigate

through a multiplicity of conflicts, including disputes

with their supervisors and supervisees of either a coop-

erative, win–win or competitive, win–lose nature. The

goal of this study was to examine how the capacity of

South Korean workers to respond adaptively to different

or changing types of conflict situations impacts their

job-related well-being and turnover intentions. Specifi-

cally, we hypothesized and found that more adaptive

responses to conflict—those that utilize different behav-

ioral strategies that are aligned with the normative

demands of presenting conflict situations—were posi-

tively related to satisfaction with conflict outcomes, job-

related well-being, and lower intentions to quit one's job

among managers and employees in South Korea. These

findings are consistent with those from similar studies

in the United States, providing support for the general-

izability of the model to other cultural contexts. Theo-

retical and practical implications of the results as well

as directions for future research are discussed.

Received: 24 August 2020 Revised: 20 October 2020 Accepted: 18 November 2020

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21291

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