Analyzing the Effect of Sincere Apology and Willingnessto Cooperate on Workplace Conflict: Explaining the Mediating Role of Forgiveness and ModeratingRole of Empathy Among Employees

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of analyzing the sincere apology and willingness to cooperate on conflict at work with the mediating role of forgiveness and moderating role of empathy after conflict. The statistical population of the study consisted of all the employees of companies located in Kerman No. 2 Industrial Park. Using cluster sampling from 172 clusters, 28 clusters were selected from each cluster by proportional method sampling. Totally 280 persons were selected as sample. The partial least squares method was used for data analysis and structural equation modeling was applied to measure the relationships between research variables. Goodness of fit for both parts of the data algorithm showed the utility and acceptability of the questionnaires and latent structure at the level of indicators and questions. The results indicated the effect of sincere apology and willingness to cooperate on workplace conflict both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of forgiveness. The results also confirmed the moderating role of empathy in such a way that empathy among employees reinforces the effect of sincere apology and willingness to cooperate in reducing organizational conflict.