The three-way interactions of gender, supervisor's gender, and country on the strategies for managing conflict of millennials: an exploratory study in 10 countries

Purpose This field study aims to investigate the interactive relationships of millennial employee's gender, supervisor's gender and country culture on the conflict-management strategies (CMS) in ten countries (USA, China, Turkey, Germany, Bangladesh, Portugal, Pakistan, Italy, Thailand and Hong Kong). Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study extends past research by examining the interactive effects of gender x supervisor's gender x country on the CMS within a single generation of workers, millennials. The Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II, Form A was used to assess the use of the five CMS (integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding and compromising). Data analysis found CMS used in the workplace are associated with the interaction of worker and supervisor genders and the national context of their work. Findings Data analysis (N = 2,801) was performed using the multivariate analysis of covariance with work experience as a covariate. The analysis provided support for the three-way interaction. This interaction suggests how one uses the CMS depends on self-gender, supervisor's gender and the country where the parties live. Also, the covariate - work experience - was significantly associated with CMS. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations of this study is that the authors collected data from a collegiate sample of employed management students in ten countries. There are significant implications for leading global teams and training programs for mid-level millennials. Practical implications There are various conflict situations where one conflict strategy may be more appropriate than others. Organizations may have to change their policies for recruiting employees who are more effective in conflict management. Social implications Conflict management is not only important for managers but it is also important for all human beings. Individuals handle conflict every day and it would be really good if they could handle it effectively and improve their gains. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, no study has tested a three-way interaction of variables on CMS. This study has a wealth of information on CMS for global managers.