**4.3. External SC and conflicts**

The interfaces of the organizational agents with entities outside of the organization range from connections with stakeholders to connections with rivals (and it is only natural to have conflicts with them). Nevertheless, conflicts can occur with all the external connections of the organizations. Conflicts with competitors have a survival value [61], and therefore, "C-type" conflicts are essential for developing new ideas and finding creative solutions. A person with high external SC should leverage his/her connections for creating "C-type" conflicts with stakeholders and competitors. Nevertheless, "A-type" conflicts with important interfaces are common [62] because of negative feelings that develop toward outside entities as a result of conflicting interests. Consequently, the external SC should be separated from personal SC because this level of SC is subjective and emotional, and resentment and anger can develop faster at the personal level. Developing skills of separating personal conflicts from external conflicts are essential for the organizational survival.
