SpringerLink
Log in

How Do Chinese Firms Deal with Inter-Organizational Conflict?

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Based on social exchange and customer relationship marketing theory, this study examines how ethical leadership contributes to inter-organizational conflict management (task conflict (TC) and relationship conflict), and the moderating role of task interdependence in these relationships. Data was collected from 81 suppliers and 45 corresponding managers of a large group company in China. Results show that ethical leadership is negatively associated with the levels of inter-organizational conflict, whether task or relationship. Task interdependence significantly moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and TC. Managerial implication in terms of creating sound buyer–supplier relationship through an ethical perspective is discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, J. C., & James, A. N. (1991). Partnering as a focused market strategy. California Management Review, 33, 95–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E. (2007). Misconceptions of ethical leadership: How to avoid potential pitfalls. Organizational Dynamics, 36(2), 140–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., Trevino, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97(2), 117–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciulla, J. (1998). Ethics, the heart of leadership. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, D. R. (2007). Leadership in the collaborative interorganizational domain. International Journal of Public Administration, 30(1), 1231–1262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiStefano, T. (1984). Interorganizational conflict: A review of an emerging field. Human Relations, 37(5), 351–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domenico, M. D., Tracey, P., & Haugh, H. (2009). The dialectic of social exchange: Theorizing corporate—social enterprise collaboration. Organization Studies, 30, 887–907.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, F. R., Schurr, P. H., & Oh, S. (1987). Develo** buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 51, 11–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enderle, G. (1987). Some perspective of managerial ethical leadership. Journal of Business Ethics, 6(8), 657–663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fry, L. W., Kerr, S., & Lee, C. (1986). Effects of different leader behaviors under different levels of task interdependence. Human Relations, 39(12), 1067–1082.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galup, S. D., Klein, G., & Jiang, J. J. (2008). The impacts of job characteristics on is employee satisfaction: A comparison between permanent and temporary employees. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 48(4), 58–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hallen, L., Johanson, J., & Seyed-Mohamed, N. (1991). Interfirm adaptation in business relationships. Journal of Marketing, 55, 29–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamlin, A., & Jennings, C. (2007). Leadership and conflict. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 64(1), 49–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy, C., & Phillips, N. (1998). Strategies of engagement: Lessons from the critical examination of collaboration and conflict in an interorganizational domain. Organization Science, 9(2), 217–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, J. A., Eckerd, S., Wilson, D., & Greer, B. (2009). The effect of unethical behavior on trust in a buyer-supplier relationship: The mediating role of psychological contract violation. Journal of Operations Management, 27(4), 281–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hult, G. T., Ferrell, O. C., Hurley, R. F., & Giunipero, L. C. (2000). Leadership and relationship commitment: A focus on the supplier-buyer-user linkage. Industrial Marketing Management, 29, 111–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huxham, C., & Vangen, S. (2000). Leadership in the sha** and implementation of collaboration agendas: How things happen in a (not quite) joined-up world. Academy of Management Journal, 43(6), 1159–1175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, D. B., Golemon, P. L., Chen, Y., Wang, T. S., & Hung, W. S. (2009). Guanxi and business ethics in Confucian society today: An empirical case study in Taiwan. Journal of Business Ethics, 89(2), 235–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ip, P. K. (2009). Is Confucianism good for business ethics in China? Journal of Business Ethics, 88(3), 463–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jehn, K. A. (1995). A multimethod examination of the benefits and determinants of intragroup conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40(2), 256–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jehn, K. A. (1997). A qualitative analysis of conflict types and dimensions in organizational groups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(3), 530–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jehn, K. A. (2001). The dynamic nature of conflict: A longitudinal study of intragroup conflict and group performance. Academy of Management Journal’, 44(2), 238–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joreskog, K. G., & Sorbom, D. (1993). LISREL ® 8: Structural equation modeling with SIMPLISTM command language. Chicago, IL: ScientiWc Software International Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C., Earley, C., Lituchy, T. R., & Wagner, M. (1991). Relation of goal setting and goal sharing to performance and conflict for interdependent tasks. British Journal of Management, 2(1), 33–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y. (2003). Industrial dynamics and managerial networking in an emerging market: The case of China. Strategic Management Journal, 24(13), 1315–1327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, G. S., Resick, C. J., Keating, M. A., & Dickson, M. W. (2009). Ethical leadership across cultures: A comparative analysis of German and US perspectives. Business Ethics: A European Review, 18(2), 127–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. B. (2009). How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCann, J. E., & Ferry, D. L. (1979). An approach for assessing and managing inter-unit interdependence. Academy of Management Review, 4(1), 113–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCann, J. E., & Galbraith, J. R. (1981). Interdepartmental relations. In P. Nystrom & W. Starbuck (Eds.), Handbook of organizational design. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCann, J., & Holt, R. (2008). Ethical leadership and organizations: An analysis of leadership in the manufacturing industry based on the perceived leadership integrity scale. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(2), 211–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menguc, B., & Auh, S. (2008). Conflict, leadership, and market orientation. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 25(1), 34–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millington, A., Eberhardt, M., & Wilkinson, B. (2006). Guaixi and supplier search mechanisms in China. Human Relations, 59(4), 505–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar, J. J., & Rogers, D. L. (1979). A comparative model of interorganizational conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(3), 405–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neubert, M. J., Carlson, D. S., Kacmar, K. M., Roberts, J. A., & Chonko, L. B. (2009). The virtuous influence of ethical leadership behaviors: Evidence from the field. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(2), 157–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novicevic, M. M., Davis, W., Dorn, F., & Buckley, M. R. (2005). Barnard on conflicts of responsibility: Implications for today’s perspectives on transformational and authentic leadership. Management Decision, 43(10), 1396–1409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pruden, H. O. (1969). Interorganizational conflict, linkage, and exchange: A study of industrial salesmen. Academy of Management Journal, 12(3), 339–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quaquebeke, N. V., & Eckloff, T. (2010). Defining respectful leadership: What it is, how it can be measured, and another glimpse at what it is related to. Journal of Business Ethics, 91(3), 343–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, M. F. (1991). In search of transformational leadership: Managing conflict and change. Public Administration Review, 51(4), 366–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Resick, C. J., Martin, G. S., Keating, M. A., Dickson, M. W., Kwan, H. K., & Peng, C. Y. (2011). What ethical leadership means to me: Asian, American, and European perspectives. Journal of Business Ethics, 101, 435–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, G. M., & Shohan, A. (2004). Interorganizational task and emotional conflict with international channels of distribution. Journal of Business Research, 57(9), 942–950.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schul, P. L., Pride, W. M., & Little, T. L. (1983). The impact of channel leadership behavior on intrachannel conflict. Journal of Marketing, 47(3), 21–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Somech, A., Desivilya, H. S., & Lidogoster, H. (2009). Team conflict management and team effectiveness: The effects of task interdependence and team identification. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30(3), 359–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steidlmeier, P. (1999). Gift giving, bribery and corruption: Ethical management of business relationships in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 20(2), 122–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stern, L. W., & El-Ansary, A. I. (1992). Marketing channels. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, C. W., Pan, S. L., Lim, E. T. K., & Chan, C. M. L. (2005). Managing knowledge conflicts in an interorganizational project: A case study of the infocomm development authority of Singapore. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 56(11), 117–1199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, J. (1967). Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toor, S. R., & Ofori, G. (2009). Ethical leadership: Examining the relationships with full range leadership model, employee outcomes, and organizational culture. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(4), 533–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K., Brown, M., & Hartman, L. P. (2003). A qualitative investigation of perceived executive ethical leadership: Perceptions from inside and outside the executive suite. Human Relations, 56(1), 5–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trevino, L. K., Hartman, L. P., & Brown, M. (2000). Moral person and moral manager: How executives develop a reputation for ethical leadership. California Management Review, 42(4), 128–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Der Vegt, G., Emans, B., & Van De Vliert, E. (2000). Team members’ affective responses to patterns of intragroup interdependence and job complexity. Journal of Management, 26(4), 633–655.

    Google Scholar 

  • Victor, B., & Blackburn, R. S. (1987). Interdependence: An alternative conceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 12(3), 486–498.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wakefield, R. L., Leidner, D. E., & Garrison, G. (2008). A model of conflict, leadership, and performance in virtual teams. Information Systems Research, 19(4), 434–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walumbwa, F. O., Mayer, D. M., Wang, P., Wang, H., Workman, K., & Christensen, A. L. (2011). Linking ethical leadership to employee performance: The roles of leader-member exchange, self-efficacy, and organizational identification. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115, 204–213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walumbwa, F. O., & Schaubroeck, J. (2009). Leader personality traits and employee voice behavior: Mediating roles of ethical leadership and work group psychological safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(5), 1275–1286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, M. (2010). Guanxi management as complex adaptive systems: A case study of Taiwanese ODI in China. Journal of Business Ethics, 91(3), 419–432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • **n, K. R., & Pelled, L. H. (2003). Supervisor–subordinate conflict and perceptions of leadership behavior: A field study. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(1), 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • **n, K., & Pucik, V. (2003). Trouble in paradise. Harvard Business Review, 81(8), 141–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, R., & Rezaee, Z. (2009). Do credible firms perform better in emerging markets? evidence from China. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(2), 221–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank **aoyun **e, Associate Professor in School of Management, Zhejiang University for his excellent feedback in editing the manuscript. The authors also acknowledge financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 70732001 and 71072115).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Zhejiang University, Room 243, Main Teaching Building, **xi Campus, Tianmushan Road 148, Mailbox 2331, Hangzhou, 310028, Zhejiang, China

    Shenjiang Mo

  2. Henley Business School, University of Reading, Berkshire, UK

    Simon A. Booth

  3. School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Zhongming Wang

Authors
  1. Shenjiang Mo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Simon A. Booth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhongming Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shenjiang Mo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mo, S., Booth, S.A. & Wang, Z. How Do Chinese Firms Deal with Inter-Organizational Conflict?. J Bus Ethics 108, 121–129 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1066-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-1066-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation