New Research by Hurt and Van Dyke Explores Relationships between Servant Leadership, Organizational Trust, and Affective Conflict

A new study by Turner College management professor Kevin Hurt and the United States Army's Tucker Van Dyke, a Turner College alum, develops a theoretical model and evidence-based propositions depicting the interrelationships between servant leadership, organizational trust, and affective conflict. The authors position affective conflict, which is a type of disagreement that occurs when people focus on their personal feelings and relationships with others, rather than the task at hand, as a negative moderating influence between servant leadership and organizational trust in order to present a solution to mitigate the negative effects of affective conflict. The study first reviews the relationship between servant leadership and organizational trust and develop propositions linking the constructs. The study, which appears in the current issue of Conflict Resolution Quarterly, then discusses the impact of affective conflict on the servant leadership—organizational trust relationship and develops additional propositions linking those constructs. Finally, the authors present the Walk-In-The-Woods process as a method to moderate the impact of affective conflict on the servant leadership—organizational trust relationship and to efficiently resolve conflict and preserve the positive effects of servant leadership. As they explain, the Walk-In-The-Woods is a structured conflict resolution process that is based on the concept of principled negotiation. Its purpose is to expand the range of interests that are involved in a conflict resolution setting to reach an efficient and amicable solution. Conflict Resolution Quarterly is an interdisciplinary social sciences journal focused on relationships between theory, research, and practice in the human conflict management, dispute resolution, and peace studies fields.