Claude‐Hélène Mayer and Christian Boness
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into cross‐cultural conflicts and their management in ecclesiastical organizations in Tanzania. It aims at increasing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into cross‐cultural conflicts and their management in ecclesiastical organizations in Tanzania. It aims at increasing the understanding of these complexities from an emic perspective of employees with a Christian background, thereby providing in‐depth information on the topic. These new insights provide fresh ideas for further research on this topic in the Tanzanian context.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative data were selected from a more comprehensive case study carried out in multiple governmental, educational, ecclesiastical and economic organizations in Tanzania. The case study was based on phenomenological and interpretative paradigms and hermeneutical interpretations using qualitative methodology including in‐depth interviews and observation during field stays, as well as documentary and secondary analysis.
Findings
The findings show that senior management staff of ecclesiastical organizations function as mediators for conflicting parties to regain harmony and peace through third‐party intervention and spiritual self‐development. Mediation in ecclesiastical organizations is mainly used in relationship conflicts, employment conflicts and church re‐structuring processes. It supports the resolution of value conflicts between the conflict parties and the environment and at the same time re‐constructs religious and Christian values and concepts, such as the concept of “Shalom” and “creating lobe” and thereby re‐enforces spiritual integrity and the reality of the church.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are not generalizable and are limited to this specific research context. Findings should be verified by follow‐up studies which expand the content, the context and the methodological approach of this study. These findings should be viewed as exploratory research findings and as highly contextual and sample‐bound.
Practical implications
The paper describes the practical implications for further research relating to future research topics for researchers interested in the field of cross‐cultural conflict management in ecclesiastical organizations in Tanzania.
Originality/value
The authors present original data and provide new insights into managing conflicts in Tanzanian ecclesiastical organizations through mediation.
Details
Keywords
Sara Yamini, Kyriaki Fousiani and Barbara Wisse
In this meta-analysis, the authors investigate the relationship between self-construal and conflict management strategies and shed light on the inconsistent findings in the…
Abstract
Purpose
In this meta-analysis, the authors investigate the relationship between self-construal and conflict management strategies and shed light on the inconsistent findings in the literature. Moreover, they examine the mediating role of face concerns in this relationship. Importantly, the present meta-analysis is the first to test the assumptions of face-negotiation theory with the meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM), which enabled the authors to test the hypothesized relationships in one single model.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used the method of MASEM to test the relationship between self-construal and conflict management and assess the mediating role of face concerns. In this regard, the authors employed one-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling to perform MASEM and its moderators.
Findings
Two hundred fifty-four effect sizes based on thirty-three studies were pooled in this meta-analysis. The authors found that individuals with stronger independent self-construal and stronger self-face concerns were more likely to use forcing. Moreover, the relationship between independent self-construal and forcing was mediated by self-face concerns. Individuals with a stronger interdependent self-construal and individuals with stronger other-face concerns were more likely to use problem-solving and yielding. The relationship between interdependent self-construal and problem-solving and yielding was mediated by other-face concerns. Finally, interdependent self-construal also had an indirect effect, via other-face concern, on avoiding and compromising.
Originality/value
The present meta-analysis is the first effort that the authors are aware of to test the assumptions of face-negotiation theory (FNT) using MASEM method. The authors used one-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling viewed as the state of the methods to perform MASEM and its moderators. They employed full information meta-analytic structural equation modeling to show the generalizability and heterogeneity of structural equation modeling parameters. They applied studentized deleted residuals to assess outlier analysis and also conducted different methods to perform MASEM to check the robustness of the findings resulted. Finally, the current study adds multiple methods of assessing for publication bias.