Title: Conflict management in the academic environment: is there room for wonder?

Authors: Nataša Rupčić; Marli Gonan Božac; Iva Angeleski

Addresses: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia ' Faculty of Economics and Tourism, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Pula, Croatia ' Faculty of Economics and Tourism, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Pula, Croatia

Abstract: The aim of this work was to investigate preferences regarding conflict management strategies in the Croatian academic environment. The study found that compromising should not be considered as a stand-alone strategy because the line between problem solving and compromise is blurred. We integrated these two strategies and called this approach 'cooperating', which was the most commonly used strategy. Our study found that respondents who perceived a low level of conflict were more likely to use the strategy of cooperating. Female respondents scored significantly higher on the strategies of yielding and avoiding. Significant age effects were also found for avoiding. The results should be considered in light of the relatively low perceived level of conflict at the selected integrated universities. They suggest that while external pressures seem to increase each year and contribute to high levels of stress, individuals may be counteracting these dynamics by increasing collegial behaviour and cooperation.

Keywords: conflict management; cooperating; academia; DUTCH test; Bologna process; Croatia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2022.123830

International Journal of Management in Education, 2022 Vol.16 No.4, pp.383 - 406

Received: 11 Jan 2021
Accepted: 26 Jul 2021
Published online: 04 Jul 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article