Integrating Conflict: A Proposed Framework for the Interdisciplinary Study of Workplace Conflict and Its Management

Abstract

This article contributes to existing conflict research by proposing a theoretical framework capable of integrating findings and insights across distinct disciplines. The author utilizes the Kochan, Katz, and McKersie (1986) three-tiered industrial relations framework and demonstrates its unique capacity to situate and organize what we know about conflict and to highlight areas that have been neglected as a result of disciplinary fragmentation. The article reviews key themes, findings, and insights advanced by organizational behavior, industrial relations, and legal scholars. The author identifies the barriers associated with disciplinary boundaries and the costs these have had in terms of our current understanding of conflict in organizations. This review also examines potential areas of integration in the study of conflict and their implications for existing scholarship. Finally, the author proposes theoretical linkages that stem from the integration of conflict insights across disciplines, which serve as the basis for a future research agenda.