A recent study by Academicon concludes that out-of-court dispute resolution with the help of mediation procedures is “often the method of choice” for companies. 589 medium-sized and larger German companies were surveyed for the ADR Report 2013. According to the report, German companies are increasingly recognizing the potential of out-of-court dispute resolution to minimize costs, save time in conflict resolution and limit legal risks.
The results of the Academicon ADR Report 2013 are consistent with a study conducted as part of a bachelor’s thesis by CenaCom in collaboration with Pforzheim University in spring 2013. Of the 280 companies surveyed with up to 250 employees, 77% stated that conflicts can be an opportunity for the company if handled correctly. As many as 91.7% of the companies surveyed are of the opinion that the right conflict management saves costs and effort. And as many as 52.6% of the companies surveyed can imagine introducing a professional conflict management system.
The conclusion that can be drawn from the two studies is that the willingness of German companies to at least consider out-of-court dispute resolution procedures as a serious alternative for resolving disputes is growing.
You can find the Executive Summary of the Academicon ADR Report 2013 here.
