Advancing Dispute Resolution by Understanding the Sources of Conflict: Toward an Integrated Framework

Organizational leaders, public policymakers, dispute resolution professionals, and scholars have developed diverse methods for resolving workplace conflict. But inadequate recognition has been given to the idea that the effectiveness of a dispute resolution method depends on its fit with the source of a particular conflict. Consequently, it is essential to better understand where conflict comes from and how this affects dispute resolution. To these ends, this article uniquely integrates scholarship from multiple disciplines to develop a multidimensional framework to conceptualize the sources of conflict. This framework provides an important foundation for theorizing and identifying effective dispute resolution methods. Such methods are increasingly important as the changing world of work raises new issues, conflicts, and institutions.