Constructive Conflict Management in Organizations: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

Abstract

A common assumption of the works included in this volume is that trust and cooperation are fundamental elements of contemporary industrial relations. This concluding chapter elaborates two ‘grant’ theories that sustain the guiding threat of the book: the theory of Cooperation and Competition, related to the topic of conflict management by promoting constructive controversy between partners, and the Social Exchange theory, related with the distinction between social and economic exchanges in the employment relations, and the expectation of reciprocity as an important social exchange outcome. The chapter addresses some implications for future research to foster the construction of trust and constructive conflict management in organizations.