Constructive Role of Interorganizational Conflict.

Conflict between business organizations may have constructive consequences. This article reports on conflict within the automobile distribution system based on a two-year exploratory study, with the relationship between General Motors and its dealers as the primary example. It distinguishes between constructive and destructive conflict by drawing on five premises about intergroup conflict from sociology and applying them to manufacturer-dealer relations. The economic, organizational, and political conditions that encourage a systematic and equitable resolution of conflict are considered.