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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how national culture and proximity to national borders can influence the conflict styles that co‐workers use between themselves.Design/methodology/approachIn this experiment, samples were drawn from regions near the US Mexican border further north in the USA and further South in Mexico. Total n=549. Participants were presented with different conflict styles of co‐workers and asked how they would respond. A new measure of national origin was developed and used to assess affinity with a particular culture based on familial lineage.FindingsThis study shows that conflict resolution styles of co‐workers in the USA are different from those in Mexico. Culture also moderates the relationship among the conflict resolution styles of the co‐workers themselves. Mexicans were generally more contending and less yielding to co‐workers than Americans. However, Mexicans were also more likely than Americans to respond to contending co‐workers by accommodating or by compromising with the co‐worker. National Origin and border location influenced choice of conflict resolution styles in both American and Mexican workers.Originality/valueProximity to national borders can influence degrees of cultural identity, which can in turn, influence preferred conflict styles. Degrees of national cultural identity can be measured using familial lineage.