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This study drew on the core concerns framework (CCF) and communication accommodation theory (CAT) to examine the direct and indirect effects of manager core concerns accommodativeness on employee integrative (i.e. cooperative) intention through the mediating role of positive emotional change and manager credibility (i.e. competence, trustworthiness and goodwill). Core concerns accommodativeness refers to the degree to which one responds to another’s socio-psychological needs.

A quasi-experimental design was used. A total of 339 working adults from various industries in the USA took an online questionnaire composed of manipulations, closed-ended and open-ended questions. Quantitative data was analyzed using a series of mediation analyses and triangulated with qualitative data.

The results showed that both accommodating and overaccommodating manager messages significantly improved employees’ emotional state, perception of manager credibility and integrative intention more than the underaccommodating message. Importantly, the manager communication accommodativeness increases employees’ positive emotional change which heightened the employees’ perception of manager trustworthiness which then stimulated employees’ integrative intention. Qualitative data surprisingly revealed that the overaccommodating message was regarded predominantly positively.

The mixed-methods approach of this study added deeper insight into the role of communication accommodation and emotion in supervisor-subordinate conflict negotiation, extending both the CCF and CAT literature. The findings also inform managers about how to effectively use the core concerns.