Editorial: Conflict Management and Trust Relationships in Organizations

Conflict management research recognizes that conflicts are inherently part of organizations and organizational dynamics. Different interests, different resources, and power relations drive both competition and conflict, while positive interdependences drive parties to cooperate. This is true for interpersonal relations at work, as well as for teams, departments, and at (inter)organizational level. Conflicts are not necessarily destructive, and often inevitable part of innovation and change, and constructive ways of conflict management are at the essence of modern and ethical organizational practices. Such recognizes the well-established scientific evidence that cooperation is at the heart of sustainable organizational success. Cooperative relations feed a joint problem-solving approach toward conflicts at all levels and is stimulated in organizational settings. One important antecedent as well as consequence of cooperation in organizations is mutual trust. The aim of this Research Topic is to promote research on constructive conflict management and trust in organizational life at all levels.