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Article
Publication date: 10 February 2012

Petru L. Curşeu, Smaranda Boroş and Leon A.G. Oerlemans

The purpose of this paper is to examine the triple interaction of task conflict, emotion regulation and group temporariness on the emergence of relationship conflict.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the triple interaction of task conflict, emotion regulation and group temporariness on the emergence of relationship conflict.

Design/methodology/approach

A field study was conducted to test the interaction of emotion regulation and task conflict on the emergence of relationship conflict in 43 short‐term (temporary) groups and 44 long‐term groups.

Findings

The results show that the highest chance for task conflict to evolve into relationship conflict is when groups (both short‐term and long‐term) have less effective emotion regulation processes, while task and relationship conflict are rather decoupled in long‐term groups scoring high on emotion regulation.

Research limitations/implications

The paper concludes with a discussion of the obtained results in terms of their implications for conflict management in groups. Further research should explore the moderation effects in longitudinal studies in order to fully test the variables in the model.

Originality/value

The paper answers the call for contingency models of intra‐group conflict and tests the moderating effect of two such contingencies in the relationship between task and relationship conflict.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 May 2023

Mario J. Donate, Fátima Guadamillas and Miguel González-Mohíno

This paper aims to analyze factors based on organizational knowledge management (KM; transactional memory systems and knowledge-oriented leadership [K-OL]) that help firms to…

2398

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to analyze factors based on organizational knowledge management (KM; transactional memory systems and knowledge-oriented leadership [K-OL]) that help firms to mitigate conflicts based on task management at work, with the aim to improve their innovation capabilities (IC). The knowledge-based view of the firm, conflict management theory and cognitive collective engagement theory have been used to build a model of relationships that connects the development of positive KM contexts and management of dysfunctional conflict with IC improvement.

Design/methodology/approach

Data survey collected from inland hotel establishments in Spain is used to test seven hypotheses by means of structural equations modeling, applying the partial least squares technique. Direct, indirect and mediating relationships between variables are examined from the structural path model.

Findings

The results confirm that, as expected, IC improve when K-OL and transactive memory systems (TMSs) are properly implemented by hotel establishments, which leads them to reduce negative effects of task management conflict (TMC). Significant direct effects are found between the key variables of the study and also a significant indirect effect between K-OL and IC through TMS reinforcement and the mitigation of TMC.

Practical implications

This paper provides useful ideas for hotel managers about how to improve KM contexts in their establishments while avoiding TMC. Efforts devoted to creating those contexts by hotel establishments are shown to be effective to improve their IC and create competitive advantages.

Originality/value

The analysis of IC improvement by studying TMC mitigation had not been researched to date by the KM literature. The consideration and testing of a model that integrates KM-related tools such as K-OL and TMS to avoid TMC in the hotel industry is the main contribution of this study.

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2022

Maria Ioana Telecan, Claudia Lenuța Rus and Petru Lucian Curșeu

Using a within-subject vignette experiment, this study aims to disentangle the differential effect of task and relationship conflict on team effectiveness and interpersonal…

592

Abstract

Purpose

Using a within-subject vignette experiment, this study aims to disentangle the differential effect of task and relationship conflict on team effectiveness and interpersonal outcomes. In addition, the authors aimed to test the moderating role of the conflict inducing person’s gender on task and relationship conflict outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using four vignettes administered to 151 participants from an Air Force military organization.

Findings

Relationship conflict was more damaging than task conflict for team effectiveness, the harmonious interpersonal relations and the expected positive affective team climate. Task conflict triggers more positive emotions than relationship conflict and, in consequence, team effectiveness is higher in scenarios with the task rather than relationship conflict. The groups in which conflict is induced by a woman are not expected to perform better than groups in which the conflict is induced by a man. The similarity between participant’s gender and the gender of the person that generated the conflict accentuates rather than attenuates the effectiveness decline associated with relationship conflict. Task conflict triggers cooperative, while relationship conflict triggers assertive conflict management strategies.

Research limitations/implications

This study provided only a snapshot on how task and relationship conflict are perceived to relate to the various team and individual-level outcomes, particularly in military settings.

Originality/value

The findings evidence the differential effect of task and relationship conflict not only on team effectiveness but also on attitudinal and emotional team and individual-level outcomes.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 December 2022

Michel Tremblay

This study aims to examine how changes in power disparity shape in-groups and upper-level management conflict are associated with intragroup relationship and task conflict…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine how changes in power disparity shape in-groups and upper-level management conflict are associated with intragroup relationship and task conflict variations. It also examines how workplace conflicts relate to focal employees’ perceptions of coworker support.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 3,343 respondents for nine years, comprising measurements taken on six occasions in 47 departments and stores of a Canadian retailer. The relationships between, within and across levels were tested using multilevel structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results showed that higher levels of power concentration vested by a few members or a single person are associated wih higher levels of intragroup conflict than usual. Furthermore, higher levels of task and relationship conflicts at upper management levels are associated with higher-than-usual task and relationship conflicts between nonhierarchical employees. Additionally, a higher-than-usual intragroup task conflict level was associated with lower-than-usual coworker support, supporting the proposed multilevel dynamic model.

Research limitations/implications

An important limitation of this study is that all variables are self-reported despite using the six-wave repeated measurements, thereby increasing the possibility of inflating some observed relationships. Future research should examine the emergence of a larger spectrum of power dispersion configurations and their role on process conflict.

Practical implications

Retail managers should legitimize why a high-power concentration occurs when the equal distribution of power is not possible and find ways to minimize the trickle-down effects of conflicts at upper levels on their subordinates.

Originality/value

This study examines the effect of variability on power configurations and conflict in upper management ranks on conflict dynamic. The findings show that a high-power concentration elicits increasing conflicts, and that there is no empirical evidence that intragroup conflict is associated with positive outcomes.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 August 2022

Yasir Mansoor Kundi, Kamal Badar, Muhammad Sarfraz and Naeem Ashraf

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study aims to examine the association between interpersonal conflict and task performance as well as the mediating and moderating roles…

1448

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study aims to examine the association between interpersonal conflict and task performance as well as the mediating and moderating roles of workplace deviance and emotional intelligence, respectively, in this association.

Design/methodology/approach

Two studies were designed to test the authors’ hypotheses using multiwave and multisource data collected from 173 (187) subordinates and their immediate supervisors from Pakistan.

Findings

An important reason that interpersonal conflict diminishes employees’ task performance is that employees are engaged in workplace deviance. This indirect effect is less salient when employees are more emotionally intelligent.

Practical implications

One way to improve employees’ task performance could be to reduce and manage interpersonal conflicts, especially through interventions aimed at increasing employees’ emotional intelligence levels.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating that employees’ emotional intelligence is a boundary condition that alters the association between interpersonal conflict and employee task performance directly and indirectly via workplace deviance.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 September 2021

Rahman Ullah

This study aims to examine how and when task and process conflicts relate to relationship conflict by detailing the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating effect…

1000

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine how and when task and process conflicts relate to relationship conflict by detailing the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating effect of emotional intelligence.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey data were collected from 462 employees working in different organizations in Pakistan.

Findings

The results revealed that individuals engaged in task and process conflicts are more likely to feel negative emotions toward others and consequently are more likely to engage in relationship conflict in the workplace. This mediated relationship of task and process conflicts with relationship conflict via negative emotions is lower when employees are more emotionally intelligent.

Practical implications

This study pinpointed a key mechanism, negative emotions, by which task and process conflicts lead to relationship conflict. Emotionally intelligent individuals are better at regulating their negative emotions; therefore, emotional intelligence training can be an effective tool for minimizing employees’ negative emotions during task and process conflicts, which can help reduce relationship conflict.

Originality/value

By examining the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating effect of emotional intelligence, this study adds to the previous research by detailing how and when task and process conflicts lead to relationship conflict.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2014

Ariel Avgar, Eun Kyung Lee and WonJoon Chung

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of discretion and social capital on the relationship between individual perceptions of team conflict and…

2448

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of discretion and social capital on the relationship between individual perceptions of team conflict and employee-level outcomes. The authors propose that both employee discretion and unit-level social capital influence the negative effects of perceived conflict on employee stress and turnover intentions. They argue that an individual’s perceptions of these central organizational characteristics are likely to alter the consequences associated with conflict and the manner in which individuals respond to it.

Design/methodology/approach

This study empirically tests the moderating effects of discretion and unit-level social capital on the relationship between individual’s perception of team conflict and employee-level outcomes. Analysis was conducted with survey data from a sample of health care care providers in 90 units across 20 nursing home organizations. We applied hierarchical linear modeling analyses to test our hypotheses.

Findings

Results demonstrate that employee discretion moderates the relationship between perceived task conflict and job stress. Unit-level social capital was shown to moderate the relationship between perceived relationship conflict and employee turnover intentions. Our findings also document a varied moderation effect at low to moderate levels of conflict versus high levels of conflict. This finding suggests that the moderating role of contextual variables is more nuanced and complex than the existing conceptual frameworks acknowledge.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the research on conflict and conflict management by extending a multilevel approach to the effect of conflict and by providing new insights regarding the contextual manner in which conflict affects workplace outcomes.

Practical implications

The effects of discretion and unit-level social capital on how conflict is metabolized by organizations and their members varied. Contextual factors matter differently for different individual level outcomes. In attempting to manage the consequences associated with workplace conflict, organizations and their managers must consider different contextual factors.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the research on conflict and its management in organization by providing new insights regarding the contextual manner in which conflict affects organizational and individual outcomes. This study provides support for the claim that the relational and task-related context under which employees experience conflict affects employee stress levels and the extent to which they report their intentions to leave the organization.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 25 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2012

Oluremi B. Ayoko and Alison M. Konrad

Previous research has shown that diversity is related to both task and relationship conflict in groups. The purpose of this paper is to posit that leadership is an important…

7451

Abstract

Purpose

Previous research has shown that diversity is related to both task and relationship conflict in groups. The purpose of this paper is to posit that leadership is an important factor for maintaining high group performance and morale under conditions of conflict. Specifically, the paper argues that leader conflict management, emotion management, and transformational behaviors determine the impact of conflict on group outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 585 people in 89 workgroups from eight public service organizations in Australia. The authors used hierarchical regression to test the hypotheses regarding group performance and morale. To test mediation and moderation, the authors followed the procedure outlined by Baron and Kenny. Finally, they used the formulas provided by Preacher, Rucker and Hayes to test for moderated mediation.

Findings

Results showed that diversity increased task conflict but was unrelated to relationship conflict. Both task and relationship conflict were negatively associated with group performance and morale, and effective leadership reduced these negative effects to zero. There was also a partial support for the authors’ theoretical model predicting that leadership moderates the indirect effect of diversity on group outcomes occurring through the mediator of conflict.

Research limitations/implications

A greater amount of variation in the diversity of work groups included in the sample would have been useful for overcoming problems of restriction of range, which likely reduced ability to observe an association between diversity and group outcomes. Based on the results, in order to prevent negative emotions from task and relationship conflict from damaging group performance, leaders of diverse groups can act to manage those emotions among their group members. Results from this study implicate conflict management training. While training for conflict management is beyond the scope of this research, further research should examine this issue.

Originality/value

The study extends research in the area of diversity, leadership and group work. In particular, it demonstrates that transformational leadership is an important factor for maintaining high group performance and morale under conditions of conflict. It also offers practical assistance to individuals entrusted with the responsibility of managing culturally diverse workgroups.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 31 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2014

Misty L. Loughry and Allen C. Amason

– The purpose of this paper is to suggest why the theoretically positive relationship between task conflict and team performance has received mixed empirical support.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to suggest why the theoretically positive relationship between task conflict and team performance has received mixed empirical support.

Design/methodology/approach

We review the literature on task conflict and offer explanations for findings that contradict the expected positive relationship between task conflict and team performance.

Findings

High levels of correlation among task, relationship and process conflict, and measurement and data analysis issues make it difficult to isolate the effects of each type of conflict. Group-level moderators, including values congruence, goal alignment, norms for debate and the group’s performance history and conflict history affect the relationship between task conflict and performance. The complex relationship between conflict and trust may cause task conflict to have mixed effects on performance. Individual differences and conflict management approaches also affect the relationship between task conflict and performance. Temporal issues and stages of group development are other relevant influences.

Practical implications

To better achieve the theorized performance benefits of task conflict, a context characterized by trust is needed. Then norms fostering task conflict can be cultivated and employees can be trained in conflict management. Individual differences that affect team members’ ability to confidently accept task conflict can be considered in selection.

Originality/value

Suggestions are presented for future research that may explain discrepant findings in the past empirical literature. In particular, it may be difficult for some team members to perceive task conflict in well-functioning teams. Measures of task conflict that avoid the use of words with a negative connotation should be tested.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 October 2018

Anil Boz Semerci

The purpose of this paper was to examine knowledge hiding behaviours with perceived conflict types, competition and personal values of employees.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to examine knowledge hiding behaviours with perceived conflict types, competition and personal values of employees.

Design/methodology/approach

Two studies were carried out and structural equation modelling and moderated regression analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Study I, with employees from software development companies, revealed that task conflict and relationship conflict have additive effect on knowledge hiding behaviour. Additionally, task conflict is positively related to employees’ perceived competition. However, no mediation role of perceived competition was found between conflict types and knowledge hiding. Study II, with employees from the banking sector, indicated that employees’ individualistic or collectivistic values play a moderating role between perceived task conflict and knowledge hiding behaviours. The negative effect of task conflict on knowledge hiding behaviour is higher if the individuals have individualistic personal values.

Practical implications

This study contributes to managers by offering some guidance on what can be the results of conflict and competition between employees and how employees’ personal values can affect conflict and knowledge hiding relation.

Originality/value

To the challenges of knowledge hiding behaviour outcomes for businesses, many managers should first consider the predictors of knowledge hiding and then find some solutions against the negative consequences. This study is one of the first to examine knowledge hiding with regard to conflict types, perceived competition between employees and personal values of employees.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

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