Religious motivation, nepotism and conflict management in Jordan

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the role of individual and cultural differences, specifically religious motivation and attitudes toward nepotism, in the selection of conflict management styles (obliging, avoiding, forcing, integrating and compromising), in the Middle-Eastern context. Design/methodology/approach The research surveyed a sample of 588 individuals (both Muslims and Christians), representative of the Jordanian population. Data were analyzed through multiple ANOVAs and multiple regressions. Findings Results suggest that both religious motivation and attitude toward nepotism affect the choice of conflict management styles, while demographic variables, such as age and gender, do not seem to have an effect. Originality/value This paper constitutes one of the first attempts to investigate the conflict management style preferences of a Middle-Eastern society and the role of two important cultural variables, namely, religious motivation and attitudes toward nepotism, which have not been previously investigated by conflict management research.