Interpersonal conflict in organizations: Explaining conflict styles via face‐negotiation theory

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to test the assumption of the face‐negotiation theory (Ting‐Toomey, 1988) that face concerns are predictive of conflict management styles. Managers and employees (N = 184) completed a self‐report questionnaire that asked them to describe their reactions to typical conflicts with either a peer or a person of different status. Self‐face concern was associated positively with dominating and emotionally expressive styles, other‐face concern was associated positively with integrating, obliging, and compromising styles, and mutual‐face concern was associated positively with integrating, obliging, and compromising styles. Additionally, inclusion of face concerns provided a better prediction than other relevant variables alone for six of the eight conflict styles considered.