| Conflict is a common phenomenon happening in every aspect of human life for individuals, groups, companies, employees. The way conflict is resolved can contribute to job satisfaction for employees. Furthermore, conflict resolution preferences relate to the established culture of an organization, such as the way employees communicate and create relationships, the way information is distributed and the communication climate of the organization. The research problem of this study was the evidence that in the postmerger integration of a new business entity conflict issues arise that may harm the culture and the operation of the organization. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which conflict management style (avoiding, compromising, dominating, integrating, and obliging) moderated the relationship between communication climate (supportive and defensive) and job satisfaction in a postmerger corporate culture in the banking sector after the 2012 financial crisis. A quantitative correlational research design study was employed to address the purpose of this study. The survey was distributed to a convenience sample of seven banks employees of whom 136 correctly completed the provided questionnaire. Conflict management was measured using of the ROCI-II form C instrument. Job satisfaction was measured using the Abridged Job in General (AJIG) instrument, and communication climate was measured using the Communication Climate Inventory. The combination dominant style and defensive climate yielded a significant result (r=.27, p=.001) only. To investigate whether the dominant style moderated the relationship defensive climate and job satisfaction, the product dominating style and defensive climate was used as a predictor in the regression model. The product contributed significantly to the model (B=1.96, beta=-0.92, p=.031). Thus, in the case of a storming period like the postmerger integration a dominating style is proposed, eliminating time and resources in conflict resolution. Recommendations for future research include the use of a larger and heterogeneous sample coming from other places with different cultural and business characteristics. Additionally, the employment of a qualitative approach will capture in-depth complex attitudes or elements related to the participants' feelings and experiences that influence conflict management behavior and preferences. |
