Conflict management styles, emotional intelligence, and job performance in public organizations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among emotional intelligence (EI), conflict management styles (CMSs) and job performance at selected local governments in Indonesia. Specifically, the antecedent of CMSs was investigated. Design/methodology/approach A total of 300 government employees from two local districts and one province in Indonesia were asked to complete the questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 228 respondents. The multiple hierarchical regression was used to test the developed hypotheses. Findings The findings indicate that EI was an antecedent of conflict management styles for integrating and compromising styles. Moreover, they illustrate the direct effects of integrating style on job performance. This study also confirms that integrating style partially mediates the relationship between EI and job performance. Finally, the results demonstrate that EI within public organizations has an impact on job performance similar to that of EI within private organizations. Originality/value Previous studies were less focused on the antecedents of conflict management styles on job performance. Further, the effects of two conflict management styles on EI and job performance had previously lacked attention. The paper verifies that EI within public sectors can provide beneficial results as discovered in private organizations.