RELATIVE STATUS OF EMPLOYEES AND STYLES OF HANDLING INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY WITH KOREAN MANAGERS

Abstract

An onsite experimental study was conducted in order to observe conflict management styles of 90 middle‐level managers from a large Korean furniture manufacturing company. By using accomplices, conflict conditions were introduced in a controlled setting which simulated the features of a work environment. The experiment manipulated the relative status among the subjects and observed the influence of this treatment on the subjects' choices among different conflict management styles. Both structured observations and self‐report questionnaires converged to show that conflict management styles differed significantly when the managers interacted with superiors, peers, or subordinates: the managers were mainly avoiding with superiors, compromising with peers, and competing with subordinates. The current research suggests that the relative status among the parties in conflict determines the choice of conflict management styles.