The next two studies examined the effect of the environment on conflict in the
Middle East. The first study suggests that the environment does not matter. The
second study suggests that it does.
The study by Elbanna, Ali, and Dayan examined the relationship between strategic
decision making, conflict and two environmental factors: uncertainty and munificence.
The study used both semi-structured interviews and surveys. Data were collected in
two cities in Egypt: Cairo and Alexandria. The data indicate that participants did not
distinguish task from affective conflict. The data also indicate that the higher the
perceived level of conflict, the lower the perceived level of decision effectiveness. The
interviews with those participating in the study showed that they recognized that these
organizations were operating in an unstable and uncertain environment. Yet those
environmental factors did not affect the relationship between conflict and decision
effectiveness. Managers operating in the Middle East recognized the problems with
their uncertainty of their environment, but tended to discount environmental factors,
since the environment is largely outside of their control.