As an interactive phenomenon, conflict requires that interactants work together in order to establish and develop conflict. Although conflict is apparently messy, patterns emerge. Conflict can result from preexisting structural conditions or can be created from disagreements emerging in conversations. Our observations suggest three main conclusions. Conflict is an interactive phenomenon.
Organizations can manage conflict in more productive ways.
Specifically, we would recommend that workers be advised to ignore provocative statements. Future research can build on this study by examining the context of conflict more closely and by studying a wider range of settings, e.g., .