Role of Gender in Conflict Handling in the Context of Outsourcing Service Marketing

Abstract

Do male and female outsourcing service marketers differ in their responses to conflict-handling styles of outsourcers? The paper addresses this question by identifying relationship-oriented typologies of conflict handling from extant literature and examining their effects on key relational outcomes in outsourcing relationship in Asia. Specifically, the paper considers how outsourcers' conflict-handling styles impact trust and commitment by male and female outsourcing service providers' (OSPs). Data were collected from male and female OSPs and analyzed using Factor and Hierarchical Multiple Regression analyses. Findings show significant differences in the relationship between conflict-handling styles and relational outcomes between male and female OSPs. Precisely, integrating conflict handling-trust relationship is significantly stronger for males than for females, whereas compromising conflict handling-trust relationship is significantly stronger for females than for males. Findings show no statistical differences in accommodating conflict handling-trust relationship between the groups. These findings lead to research and managerial implications that conclude the paper.