Business Commons^™

The Effect Of Conflict Management Strategies On Manifest Conflict And Relationship Quality In A Buyer /Seller Environment, Lisa Toms

Doctoral Dissertations

In the free market theory established by Adam Smith in his Wealth of Nations, humans were assumed to automatically seek their own best economic interest. This assumption placed every buyer and seller in conflict with each other. Given the ever-increasing competitiveness of the business environment, it is imperative that salespeople seek to improve relationships with their customers. The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model of conflict management strategies, manifest conflict, relationship quality, and their associations during a particular conflict incident. The first objective is to determine if there is an association between the conflict …