**1. Introduction**

This chapter aims to provide a conceptual framework of conflicts and social capital (SC) in organizations. These two variables are multifaceted theoretical concepts; conflicts and their positive and negative consequences have been studied intensively, while conflicts are usually categorized as negative behavior and as one of the "dark side" constructs such as aggression, incivility, deviance and bullying [1], but most of the conflict researchers also mention

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their positive consequences such as promoting subjects and finding solutions [2]. De Dreu and Gelfand [1] divided conflict management in organizations into three levels such as the individual level, the group level, and the organizational level. They claimed that each level of conflict can result in either harming or improving the quality of performance and satisfaction in organizations. The outcome (positive or negative) depends on the context of the conflict. The argument of this chapter is that an important contextual variable is SC. In this chapter, the author introduces the effect of social capital (SC) in various organizational levels and discusses its possible influence on organizational conflicts.

indicator of overall conflict. Considering the similarity of Amason et al.'s [6] types and Jehn's [7, 8] dimensions, the relationship conflict can be defined as an "A-type" conflict, and the task

Conflicts and Social Capital in Organizations http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73387 55

Avgar [9, 10] claimed that task conflict, that is, "C-type" conflict, amplifies the social capital in organizations, and relationship conflict, that is, "A-type" conflict reduces it. However, this statement is general because SC is a complex concept, and there are three levels of SC in organizations, and each level can influence conflicts and be affected by conflicts differently. The

Social capital (SC) is a comprehensive concept, which refers to the benefits derived from interactions between people. The concept of SC became widespread following Jane Jacobs' study in 1961. In her book: "The Death and Life of Great American Cities," Jacobs [10] argued that interpersonal relations that are based on trust, cooperation, common goals, and common activities can lead to better quality of life in urban neighborhoods, and eventually will raise the property values.

Leaning toward this observation, Coleman [11] looked at the concept of "SC" as a bridge between sociology [12, 13] and economics [14], that is, social connections that lead to a mea-

There are many definitions of SC, Putnam [4], for example, claimed that SC refers to features of social organization such as trust, norms, and networks. SC is a relational resource [11], and its function appears to be related to enabling some societal good within the boundary of a specific social level. Because SC is a broad concept, researchers tried to make it more accurate

Halpern [16] distinguished between three levels of SC in the upbringing and educational research: SC at the microlevel—the family level, SC at the macrolevel—state level, and a level that is in-between—the community level. Similar to Halpern's [16] typology, the SC in organizations is also divided into three levels such as personal SC, intraorganizational SC, and the

The first level of SC refers to the individual's profit from his/her positioning in social networks [17] inside and outside of the organization. Stofer et al. [18] defined personal SC as the set of resources that individuals bring to the performance of their tasks through their own

Personal SC is measured by parameters such as the number of social relationships the individual maintains in the organization and their hierarchical level, the number of social events to which he/she is invited, the degree to which he/she attends these events, and the individual's

next section introduces the concept of SC and its levels in organizations.

and refine it by distinguishing between its different levels [15].

involvement in various activities in the organization, est. [19, 20].

conflict can be defined as a "C-type" conflict.

**3. Social capital (SC)**

surable intangible asset.

macro level—external SC [15].

**3.1. Personal SC**

personal relations.

SC has many definitions and segmentations; it is considered a "positive psychology" variable [3] because it refers to the benefits derived from social interactions [4, 5]. The interface between organizational conflicts and SC is interesting because of their contrasting nature. Moreover, SC can lead to conflicts, and conflicts can lead to SC in every organizational level.

In order to make the discussion about conflicts simpler and clearer, the author prefers to use the segmentation of "A-type" and "C-type" conflicts, according to Amason et al. [6] and tries to examine their compound relationship with different levels of SC in organizations, that is, personal, intraorganizational, and external SC.
