Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Accelerated Multi-Organization Conflict Resolution

  • Published:
Group Decision and Negotiation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss two situations where two organizations with different aims recognized the dysfunctionality of their relationship. In each of these cases, which were long running (6–8 months), the organizations had worked hard to resolve this dysfunctionality, and conflict, by organizing off-site meetings designed to resolve the conflict. These 1-day meetings failed. Subsequently Group Support System workshops were used for 1 day workshops and in each case the conflict was essentially resolved within 55 min. The research reported in this paper seeks to answer the question: what happened in these cases that led to a resolution of the conflict in such a short time period, given other attempts had failed? Specifically the paper explores the impact of the GSS used to facilitate two organizations seeking to resolve a conflictual situation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Group Explorer is collaboration software designed and developed at Strathclyde Business School. Further information is available from the authors.

  2. http://www.pon.harvard.edu/category/research_projects/harvard-negotiation-project/.

  3. Decision Explorer provides the researcher with the ability to explore the maps produced in the Group Explorer workshops. The software is available through Banxia.com.

  4. Huw Weldon of the BBC in Attenborough (2002, p. 216).

References

  • Ackermann F, Andersen DF, Eden C, Richardson GP (2011) ScriptsMap: a tool for designing multi-method policy-making workshops. Omega 39:427–434. doi:10.1016/j.omega.2010.09.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ackermann F, Eden C (2005) Using causal mapping with group support systems to elicit an understanding of failure in complex projects: some implications for organizational research. Group Decis Negot 14:355–376. doi:10.1007/s10726-005-8917-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ackermann F, Eden C (2010) The role of group decision support systems: negotiating safe energy. In: Kilgour M, Eden C (eds) Handbook of group decision and negotiation. Springer, The Netherlands, pp 285–299

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ackermann F, Eden C (2011) Negotiation in strategy making teams: group support systems and the process of cognitive change. Group Decis Negot 20:293–314. doi:10.1007/s10726-008-9133-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ackermann F, Franco LA, Gallupe B, Parent M (2005) GSS for multi-organizational collaboration: reflections on process and content. Group Decis Negot 14:307–331. doi:10.1007/s10726-005-0317-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agres A, de Vreede G-J, Briggs R (2005) A tale of two cities: case studies of group support systems transition. Group Decis Negot 14:267–284. doi:10.1007/s10726-005-0315-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anson RG, Jelassi MT (1990) Group decision and negotiation support systemsa development framework for computer-supported conflict resolution. Eur J Oper Res 46:181–199. doi:10.1016/0377-2217(90)90131-T

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Attenborough D (2002) Life on the air. BBC Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Belmondo C, Sargis-Roussel C (2015) Negotiating language, meaning and intention: strategy infrastructure as the outcome of using a strategy tool through transforming strategy objects. Br J Manag 26:S90–S104. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12070

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger PL, Luckmann T (1966) The social construction of reality. Penguin Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Black LJ, Andersen DF (2012) Using visual representations as boundary objects to resolve conflict in collaborative model-building approaches. Syst Res Behav Sci 29:194–208. doi:10.1002/sres.2106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryson JM, Ackermann F, Eden C, Finn CB (2004) Visible thinking—unlocking causal mapping for practical results. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryson JM, Crosby BC, Stone MM (2006) The design and implementation of cross-sector collaborations: propositions from the literature. Public Adm Rev 66:44–55. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00665.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carlile PR (2002) A pragmatic view of knowledge and boundaries: boundary objects in new product development. Organ Sci 13:442–455. doi:10.2307/3085976

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Combe IA, Carrington DJ (2015) Leaders’ sensemaking under crises: emerging cognitive consensus over time within management teams. Leadersh Q. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.02.002

  • Conklin J (2006) Dialogue mapping: building shared understanding of wicked problems. Wiley, Chichester

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronin K, Midgley G, Jackson LS (2014) Issues mapping: a problem structuring method for addressing science and technology conflicts. Eur J Oper Res 233:145–158. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2013.08.012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crump L (2010) Strategically managing negotiation linkage dynamics. Negot Confl Manag Res 3:3–27. doi:10.1111/j.1750-4716.2009.00046.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Geus A (1988) Planning as learning. Harv Bus Rev 70–74

  • DeSanctis G, Gallupe B (1985) Group decision support systems: a new frontier database. Winter 3–9 doi:10.1145/1040688.1040689

  • Druckman D (2009) Intuition or counterintuition? The science behind the art of negotiation. Negot J 25:431–448. doi:10.1111/j.1571-9979.2009.00237.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher R, Ury W (1981) Getting to yes: negotiating agreements without giving in. Penguin, New York

  • Franco LA, Rosenhead J (2001) The role of wide-band GDSS in increasing value for multi-organisational groups: the case of the UK construction industry. In: Ackermann F, Vreede GJ (eds) Group decision and negotiation conference, Delft, The Netherlands, pp 273–278

  • Glaser BG, Strauss AL (1967) The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. Aldine Publishing, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgkinson GP, Clarkson GP (2005) What have we learned from almost 30 years of research on causal mapping? Methodological lessons and choices for the information systems and information technology communities. In: Narayanan VK, Armstrong DJ (eds) Causal mapping for research in information technology. Idea Group, London, pp 46–79

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgkinson GP, Maule AJ, Bown NJ (2004) Causal cognitive mapping in the organizational strategy field: a comparison of alternative elicitation procedures. Organ Res Methods 7:3–26. doi:10.1177/1094428103259556

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horst WJR, Melvin MW (1973) Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sci 4:155–169. doi:10.1007/BF01405730

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huff AS (1990) Mapping strategic thought. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins M, Johnson G (1997) Linking managerial cognition and organizational performance: a preliminary investigation using causal maps. Br J Manag 8:77–90. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.8.s1.7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jessup L, Valacich J (1993) Group support systems: new perspectives. Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessup LM, Tansik DA (1991) Decision making in an automated environment: the effects of anonymity and proximity with a group decision support system*. Decis Sci 22:266–279. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5915.1991.tb00346.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly G (1955) The psychology of personal constructs. Norton, New York

  • Kelly G (1963) A theory of personality: the psychology of personal constructs W. W. Norton & Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim WC, Mauborgne R (1998) Procedural justice, strategic decision making, and the knowledge economy. Strateg Manag J 19:323–338

  • Lewis LF (2010) Group support systems: overview and guided tour. In: Kilgour DM, Eden C (eds) Handbook of group decision and negotiation. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 249–268

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Maitlis S, Christianson M (2013) Sensemaking in organizations. Acad Manag Ann 57–125. doi:10.1080/19416520.2014.873177

  • Mangham I (1979) Politics of organizational change. Greenwood Press, Westport

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles MB, Huberman MA (1994) Qualitative data analysis: an expanded sourcebook. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Miranda SM, Bostrom RP (1993) The impact of group support systems on group conflict and conflict management. J Manage Inf Syst 10:63–95. doi:10.1080/07421222.1993.11518011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paroutis S, Franco LA, Papadopoulos T (2015) Visual interactions with strategy tools: producing strategic knowledge in workshops. Br J Manag 26:S48–S66. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.12081

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrow C (1986) Complex organization, 3rd edn. Random House, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Porac JF, Thomas H, Baden-Fuller C (1989) Competitive groups as cognitive communities: the case ot Scottish knitwear manufacturers. J Manag Stud 26:397–416. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6486.1989.tb00736.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw D (2003) Evaluating electronic workshops through analysing the /‘brainstormed/’ ideas. J Oper Res Soc 54:692–705. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swan J (1997) Using cognitive mapping in management research: decisions about technical innovation. Br J Manag 8:183–198. doi:10.1111/1467-8551.0050

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tavella E, Franco LA (2014) Dynamics of group knowledge production in facilitated modelling workshops: an exploratory study group. Decis Negot 1–25. doi:10.1007/s10726-014-9398-2

  • Tyler TR, Blader SL (2003) The group engagement model: procedural justice, social identity, and cooperative behavior. Pers Soc Psychol Rev 7:349–361. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0704_07

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valacich JS, Dennis AR, Nunamaker JF Jr (1991) Electronic meeting support: the GroupSystems concept. Int J Man-Machine Stud 34:261–282. doi:10.1016/0020-7373(91)90044-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vangen S, Huxham C (2003) Nurturing collaborative relations: building trust in interorganizational collaboration. J Appl Behav Sci 39:5–31. doi:10.1177/0021886303039001001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh JP (1995) Managerial and organizational cognition: notes from a trip down memory lane. Organ Sci 6:280–321. doi:10.2307/2635252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weick KE (1995) Sensemaking in organizations. Sage, Thousand Oaks

    Google Scholar 

  • Weick KE, Sutcliffe KM, Obstfeld D (2005) Organizing and the process of sensemaking. Organ Sci 16:409–421. doi:10.1287/orsc.1050.0133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winnicott DW (1953) Transitional objects and transitional phenomena; a study of the first not-me possession. Int J Psych-Anal 34:89–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Zartman IW (1977) Negotiation as a joint decision-making process. J Confl Resolut 21:619–638. doi:10.2307/173615

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curtin Business School, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, 6845, Australia

    Fran Ackermann

  2. Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, Scotland

    Colin Eden & Igor Pyrko

Authors
  1. Fran Ackermann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Colin Eden
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Igor Pyrko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fran Ackermann.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ackermann, F., Eden, C. & Pyrko, I. Accelerated Multi-Organization Conflict Resolution. Group Decis Negot 25, 901–922 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-016-9472-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-016-9472-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation