CONFLICT MANAGEMENT The Psychology of conflict and conflict ...

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workplace conflict by leaving an organization (Freeman, 1980). This is
often an explanation for the finding that unionization (“collective voice”)
associates with low turnover beyond any effect union presence may have
on increasing wage rates (e.g., Batt, Colvin, & Keefe, 2002; Cotton & Tuttle
1986; Freeman & Medoff, 1984; Wilson & Peel, 1991).
The empirical research on the relation between ODR systems and retention
rates has been mixed. For example, a substantial amount of research
has shown that employees who have access to multilevel appeal system are
less likely to quit than those who do not (for a review, see Peterson & Lewin,
2000). Yet in their study in the telecommunications industry, Batt et al. (2002)
failed to find a relation between nonunion ODR practices and employee-quit
rates. In a related study, Delery, Gupta, Shaw, Jenkins, and Ganster (2000)
found the negative relation between formal ODR systems and employee
quit rates became nonsignificant when controlling for unionization.
Unfortunately, there is no empirical field study that has examined the
relationship between the presence or usage of ODR systems and higher performance-related
outcomes. However, laboratory evidence suggests providing
an ODR system is related to higher productivity than what one would
experience without access to an ODR system (Olson-Buchanan, 1996). In
addition, the lower quit rates associated with the availability of voice alternatives
could lead to a more tenured, highly trained workforce and ultimately
enhanced productivity (Freeman & Medoff, 1984; Peterson & Lewin,
2000). However, paradoxically, research in unionized settings specifically
has shown that greater workplace conflict, reflected by high grievance
rates, is related to lower productivity and higher unit production costs (e.g.,
Cutcher-Gershenfeld, 1991; Gobeille, Katz, Kochan, & Gobeille, 1983; Ichniowski,
1986; Katz, Kochan, & Weber, 1985; Norsworthy & Zabala, 1985).
The HPWS literature provides some indirect evidence of ODR systems’
positive effect on firm performance/productivity. As noted previously,
ODR systems are often considered a component of HPWS, and HPWS are
consistently linked to organizational effectiveness (Ichniowski et al., 1996).
For example, in his study of U.S. firms, Huselid (1995) found that firms
adopting high performance work practices (e.g., adoption of multilevel
appeal systems) were more productive and had higher employee retention
rates. Arthur (1994) similarly found in a sample of steel minimills
that commitment-based work systems (e.g., multistep appeal systems)
were associated with moderately higher manufacturing performance and
lower turnover rates.
Recent Empirical Research—Procedural Justice and Choice. While the organizational-level
research has primarily focused on general organizational
variables that relate to ODR system adoption, usage, and effectiveness, the
procedural justice and procedural choice literature has focused on what
features of an ODR system might relate to higher perceived fairness and
subsequently, higher use. In this section, we first discuss the features of
ODR systems that have been linked with perceptions of higher procedural