Moral judgement and conflict handling styles among Chinese in Hong Kong and PRC

This paper describes a study which investigated the relationship between stage of moral development and conflict handling styles in Chinese societies. A total of 996 undergraduate business students and 294 MBA students in Hong Kong and China participated in the study. The defining issue test was used to assess stage of moral development. Conflict handling styles were identified by Rahim’s organizational conflict inventory. Results showed a significant association between stage of moral development and the use of integrating conflict‐handling approach. The extent to which the Chinese culture and psychology influenced moral reasoning and conflict handling styles is discussed.