Culture and Conflict Management Strategy: The Mediating Role of Instrumental Concerns

This study investigated the role of individualism and collectivism—as an individual trait—in conflict management strategies (i.e., forcing, problem-solving, avoiding, compromising, and yielding) while also considering the mediating role of instrumental concerns (e.g., self-, mutual-, and other-concerns) in conflict. A time-lagged study (ensuring temporal separation of study measures) was conducted encompassing samples from three different countries. The total sample (N = 608) comprised 237 Greek (73.4% females, M_age = 37.13, SD = 12.03), 167 Dutch (79% females, M_age = 19.41, SD = 1.86), and 204 U.S. (52.0% females, M_age = 36.68, SD = 11.62) respondents. The results showed that self-instrumental concerns (i.e., concerns about benefits or outcomes directly affecting oneself) mediated the positive relationship between vertical individualism and forcing. Moreover, other-instrumental concerns (i.e., concerns about benefits or outcomes primarily affecting others) mediated the positive relationship between vertical collectivism and yielding. Finally, mutual-instrumental concerns (i.e., concerns about benefits or outcomes that affect both oneself and others) mediated the positive relationship between horizontal collectivism and problem-solving. Emphasizing instrumental concerns as a key mechanism underlying the relationship between cultural orientation on the one hand and conflict management on the contrary can help develop targeted interventions and improve interpersonal communication and collaboration among people with different cultural values.