Dyadic Friendship Travel: The Role of Personal and Friendship Characteristics on Conflict Management Styles

Abstract

Friendship travel is gaining traction in tourism studies; however, analyses of dyads’ dynamics outside of romantic partners remain scarce. This study investigates how dyadic friends settle disputes while on vacation, negotiate self- and other-related needs based on personal and friendship characteristics, and ultimately achieve satisfying tourism experiences. Structural equation modeling is used to examine interrelationships between the “Big Five” personality traits, Aristotle’s friendship types, and interpersonal tolerance in conflict resolution during travel between same- and opposite-sex friend dyads. Findings reveal that friends whose relationships are rooted in goodwill (i.e., virtue friendship) are more willing to adopt integrating and compromising conflict management styles. Friends who possess relatively strong agreeableness and openness to experience, and who have high interpersonal tolerance, often use an integrating conflict management style. These results differ from the extant literature in showing that men’s getaways enhance dyadic friendships. Various implications and this study’s relevance in the context of COVID-19 are discussed in closing.