Conflict Around Work and Organisations

Conflict around Work and Organisations

NWO - Conflict programme line

Prof. J.M. Barendrecht (Chair)

Tilburg University

C. Brons

Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

Prof. H. Dahles

VU University Amsterdam

Mr J.H. Helmons

Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment

Prof. K.A. Jehn

Leiden University

Prof. J.M.W.G. Lucassen

International Institute of Social History

Prof. A. Nauta

Randstad HR Solutions

Prof. A.M. Riedl

Maastricht University

Introduction

The domain of work and organisation constitutes an arena in which diverging aims and

interests provide an inexhaustible source of conflict at local, national and international levels.

Conflict may emerge between different organisations or within organisations, or between

organisations and their social and political environments. Organisations and their constituent

individuals face turmoil and turbulence induced by events external and internal to them.

Examples are failing management, aggressive market strategies, worker exploitation and

discrimination (for reasons of gender, age, ethnic affiliation or physical disability), but also

accidents and disasters, to name but a few. Although theoretical and empirical research has

largely increased our knowledge of intra- and inter-organisational conflict, there are three

main areas where sufficient knowledge is sorely missing. These are: 1) more theoretically

driven empirical research that captures the increasingly dynamic and complex character of

intra- and inter-organisational conflict, especially in an international context; 2) theoretical

and empirical research examining organisational and work-related practices of governance

and policy making and 3) empirical research based on theory covering work-related

differences resulting from organisational conflict across national boundaries and in

multinational entities within national boundaries. In order to enhance our understanding of

current patterns of organisational conflict, an...