Cooperate or Compete? Attributional Perspective for Interorganizational Conflicts in Construction Projects With Trust as a Moderator

Abstract

When conflicts arise between different organizations in the construction industry, various perceived conflict causes have crucial effects on the involved parties’ coping behaviors. However, the extant literature has not adequately addressed this perspective. This study embarks on an attributional perspective, considering three dimensions (internality, controllability, and stability) to investigate the perceived causes of conflict and their effects on two primary conflict-coping behaviors: cooperative and competitive. Additionally, we delve into the moderating role of trust in this context. Drawing from 428 surveys in the Chinese construction industry, our empirical results reveal the following. The internality of attribution positively affects cooperative behavior, controllability positively affects both cooperative and competitive behaviors, while stability negatively affects cooperative behavior and positively affects competitive behavior. Moreover, trust weakens the positive relationships of both internality and controllability with cooperative behavior. Conversely, it strengthens the negative relationship of stability with cooperative behavior and the positive relationship of both controllability and stability with competitive behavior. This research elucidates the complex mechanisms between perceived conflict causes and coping behaviors, facilitating a deeper understanding of the differences and connections between cooperative and competitive behaviors. Additionally, it provides new insights into the role of trust in conflict management.