Conflicts with Friends: A Multiplex View of Friendship and Conflict and Its Association with Performance in Teams

Drawing on conservation of resources theory, multiplex social networks research, and the emerging conflict involvement perspective, the purpose of this study is to develop and test a multiplex view of conflict that explicitly accounts for the nature of the social relationships between those involved in intrateam conflict and how these multiplex relationships differentially impact team performance. Data were collected from 120 teams engaged in a 4-month business simulation. Relationship conflicts occurring among team members who are friends have a negative impact on team performance, whereas those occurring between non-friends have a positive impact on team performance. Although we also find non-friend task conflicts to be beneficial for team performance, friend task conflicts have no impact on team performance. This study highlights the dark side of workplace friendships and admonishes managers to pay close attention not only to conflicts among employees, but also to the relational closeness of those involved in conflict. The current study provides empirical support for the emerging conflict involvement perspective by explicitly assessing the number of individuals involved in conflict as well as the type of relationships between them. We also extend research on multiplex relationships from the individual to the team level of analysis. Finally, we respond to calls for studies of multiplexity that include both positive and negative relationships.     

The role of self-guided training in the relationship between task conflict and innovation in virtual teams

This study was conducted to evaluate the moderating role of self-guided training in the relationship between task conflict and team innovation in synchronic computer-mediated communication (SCMC) teams. For this purpose, a laboratory study was carried out in which 26 teams were assigned to the training condition and 24 to the control condition. Results confirmed that SCMC teams develop a negative relationship between task conflict and innovation, but also revealed that self-guided training may slow these counterproductive effects down. Our study provides new evidence of the linear relationship between task conflict and team innovation in SCMC teams, extending previous research findings obtained in face-to-face teams to virtual context and suggest that self-guided training can be useful for virtual team innovation.     

冲突对绩效的影响：个体、团队宜人性的调节作用

以往个体和团队冲突研究主要考察了个人特征或团队特征对冲突结果的影响, 而尚未充分关注冲突管理过程中个体特征与团队特征间的交互效应。基于个人-团队匹配理论, 本研究探讨了个体层面宜人性与团队层面宜人性异质性对团队中个体冲突(关系冲突、任务冲突)和工作绩效间关系的影响。基于来自64个银行服务团队(包含339名下属和64名主管)的多来源、多时点纵向数据, 本研究所得结果显示：(1)关系冲突显著负向影响工作绩效, 任务冲突对工作绩效的影响不显著。(2)个体宜人性能够显著减弱关系冲突对工作绩效的负面影响, 而增强任务冲突对工作绩效的正向影响。(3)关系/任务冲突、个体宜人性和团队宜人性异质性间存在着三重交互效应, 共同影响工作绩效。具体而言, 当团队宜人性异质性水平较低时, 个体宜人性对关系/任务冲突与工作绩效间关系的调节作用更加显著。     

Consequences of Feeling Dissimilar from Others in a Work Team

This study extended the current literature on group diversity by examining the moderating influence of perceived group openness to diversity on the relationships between perceived individual visible, informational, and value dissimilarity; individual task and relationship conflict; and work group involvement. A survey was administered to 129 public service employees who worked in intact teams. Results revealed that value dissimilarity had a positive association with task and relationship conflict and a negative association with work group involvement. Perceived group openness to diversity moderated the associations between visible and informational dissimilarity and work group involvement, and between value dissimilarity and task conflict. These results highlight the importance of managing differences by introducing norms promoting diversity and the involvement of all team members.     

团队任务冲突与团队领导行为及团队学习的关系研究

本研究旨在探讨项目团队领导基于角色的不同行为对团队内部的任务冲突互动,以及团队学习的影响.以128个项目团队为研究对象进行的问卷调查结果表明,在领导行为与团队学习的关系中任务冲突存在显著的中介效应.其中,团队领导的促进者与指挥者角色行为完全通过任务冲突的中介传导,对团队学习产生影响,;而领导的创新型行为则通过任务冲突的部分中介作用,产生对团队学习的正向影响.     

“We've Got Creative Differences”: The Effects of Task Conflict and Participative Safety on Team Creative Performance

Although both participative safety and team task conflict are widely thought to be related to team creative performance, the nature of this relationship is still not well understood, and prior studies have frequently yielded conflicting results. This study examines the ambiguity in the extant literature and proposes that both constructs must exist in tandem. Through a study of 55 design teams, we have identified a significant interaction between task conflict and participative safety. Results suggest that both participative safety and task conflict must exist in tandem to spur team creativity, and that team creative performance must be examined at the facet level, instead of simply as a single construct. In addition, supplemental analyses suggest that teams low on participative safety and task conflict are likely able to generate more original solutions for creative tasks due to the presence of an independent, disagreeable creative member. Implications for future research and practice are further discussed.     

团队权力分布差异对团队冲突的影响：程序公平和合法性的作用

近年来团队权力分布差异与团队冲突间关系受到了学界较大关注, 但相关研究结果仍存在分歧。通过对70个工作团队的调查, 探讨了团队权力分布差异对团队冲突(任务冲突、关系冲突)作用的边界条件。结果发现, 程序公平调节了两者间关系：当程序公平较高时, 团队权力分布差异与任务冲突、关系冲突负相关; 当程序公平较低时, 团队权力分布差异与任务冲突、关系冲突正相关。此外, 被中介的调节模型分析显示, 团队合法性感知中介了程序公平的上述调节作用。     

团队内冲突对团队效能的影响及作用机制

冲突是团队有效运作面临的主要挑战之一。学术界关于冲突与团队效能关系的研究结论未能达成共识, 引发了关于冲突对团队效能作用机制的探讨。回顾国内外相关文献发现, 团队特征(团队情绪、多元化、团队规范与文化价值观)、团队过程(冲突管理、信任)及任务特征等因素, 对于冲突对团队效能的作用过程具有调节作用。而基于冲突原因视角探讨团队内冲突对团队效能的影响、冲突的动态性、团队新成员冲突的激活效应和冲突与团队效能关系的本土化研究等应是未来的研究方向。     

Exploring diversity effects: nationality composition and nationality context in workgroups

The types of conflict that emerge in nationally diverse teams may depend on the number and types of nationalities present in the team. We investigate the possibility that when teams have individuals from multiple different nationalities (i.e., Dutch, Swiss and Indonesian), rather than just two different nationalities (Dutch and Indonesian), performance and task conflict will be higher while process and relationship conflicts will be comparatively lower. A scenario-based study was conducted in two countries in which we examined how nationality composition (size of national diversity or number of nationalities) and context (nature of national diversity or types of nationalities) affected perceived conflict and expected performance. We hypothesized and found that task conflict and performance are higher in nationally diverse workgroups that included multiple dissimilar nationalities compared to workgroups with just two nationalities. Results also showed that relationship and process conflicts are lower in groups that are diverse in size and nature of national diversity. We observed that social distances among nationalities varied in such a way that a distant nationality became more distanced and a close nationality became even closer in a nationally diverse group. Social distance, in that way, moderated the effect of national diversity. We discuss implications for diversity and conflict management.     

知识差异和知识冲突对团队创新的影响

通过情景模拟实验比较了高低知识差异和有无知识冲突两个变量四个水平下的团队创新度。结果表明,知识差异和知识冲突存在着交互作用;当知识差异较小时,知识冲突对于团队创新度具有积极作用;当知识差异较大时,知识冲突所起的是一种震荡作用;当团队不存在知识冲突时,较高的知识差异对团队创新度具有积极作用;存在知识冲突时,高知识差异团队和低知识差异团队的创新度没有显著差异     

A contingency model of conflict and team effectiveness

The authors develop and test theoretical extensions of the relationships of task conflict, relationship conflict, and 2 dimensions of team effectiveness (performance and team-member satisfaction) among 2 samples of work teams in Taiwan and Indonesia. Findings show that relationship conflict moderates the task conflict-team performance relationship. Specifically, the relationship is curvilinear in the shape of an inverted U when relationship conflict is low, but the relationship is linear and negative when relationship conflict is high. The results for team-member satisfaction are more equivocal, but the findings provide some evidence that relationship conflict exacerbates the negative relationship between task conflict and team-member satisfaction.     

Bullying and harassment at work and their relationships to work environment quality: An exploratory study

Team-based working has become a popular model of work organization. One of the expected yields of working in teams is collective learning. As team members work closely together they are likely to exchange information, which can enhance learning. One of the processes that may facilitate team learning is team conflict. In this study, 471 respondents, working in 84 teams in 38 organizations, indicated their perceptions of task conflict, relationship conflict, team learning, and their rating of the performance of the team. Task conflict was not related to team learning but was negatively related to the team members' rating of team performance. As was hypothesized, relationship conflict negatively affected team learning. Importantly, team learning was a strong predictor of the perceived team performance and partially mediated the relation between relationship conflict and performance.     

基于IPO模型的团队多样性-冲突-绩效权变模型的元分析

本文建立基于IPO模型的团队多样性-冲突-绩效的权变模型。通过对国内外的112篇实证文章（n=9263）进行元分析,本文定量地梳理近年来团队多样性-团队冲突-团队绩效之间关系的研究文献,并重点考察团队冲突与团队绩效之间的调节变量。元分析结果发现：团队深层多样性是引起团队冲突的重要因素,表层多样性并不会显著增加团队冲突;与美国的研究不同,中国情境下任务冲突将显著降低团队绩效;被试类型、回收率、团队规模和团队冲突的不对称感知等变量调节团队冲突与团队绩效之间的关系。     

Upsetting the apple cart: Within-team profiles of intragroup conflict and their associations with narcissism

Different types of intragroup conflict (i.e., relationship, task, and process conflict) co-exist in team environments yet how this co-existence is expressed is poorly understood, particularly in sports teams. Further, there is a lack of knowledge surrounding the antecedents of intragroup conflict. Here, we examined the nature of conflict profiles in sports teams and investigated narcissism as an antecedent to the conflict profiles. In a large, multi-group sample (n = 1107 athletes from 109 teams), participants completed measures of intragroup conflict and narcissism. Team-level latent profile analysis of intragroup conflict variables indicated five distinct within-team conflict profiles which varied in patterns of relationship, task, and process conflict. Moreover, teams high in narcissism (both in terms of team mean and team maximum scores) were more likely to occupy dysfunctional conflict profiles, that is profiles high in all conflict types. These findings underscore the importance of considering conflict profiles within teams and provide the first evidence for narcissism as a contributing factor in the development of conflict profiles in groups.     

反应与刺激冲突的脑机制差异:来自ERP研究的证据

采用事件相关电位技术(ERP),用侧抑制任务探讨了刺激和反应冲突的脑内时程动态变化。行为数据表明,冲突条件的反应时显著长于无冲突条件,表现出明显的干扰效应;脑电数据表明,在300-450ms内,反应冲突比无冲突诱发了一个更负的ERP成分(N300-450),主要分布于额顶部,偶极子溯源分析发现,这一负成分可能主要源于ACC;而刺激冲突与无冲突相比在350-450ms内,也诱发了一个更负的ERP成分(N350-450),该负成分可能主要源于丘脑附近。这一结果表明,刺激与反应冲突所涉及的大脑机制可能并不相同。     

Reaping the benefits of task conflict in teams: the critical role of team psychological safety climate

Past research suggests that task conflict may improve team performance under certain conditions; however, we know little about these specific conditions. On the basis of prior theory and research on conflict in teams, we argue that a climate of psychological safety is one specific context under which task conflict will improve team performance. Using evidence from 117 project teams, the present research found that psychological safety climate moderates the relationship between task conflict and performance. Specifically, task conflict and team performance were positively associated under conditions of high psychological safety. The results support the conclusion that psychological safety facilitates the performance benefits of task conflict in teams. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Fostering team creativity: Perspective taking as key to unlocking diversity's potential

Despite the clear importance of team creativity for organizations, the conditions that foster it are not very well understood. Even though diversity, especially diversity of perspectives and knowledge, is frequently argued to stimulate higher creativity in teams, empirical findings on this relationship remain inconsistent. We have developed a theoretical model in which the effect of a team's diversity on its creativity is moderated by the degree to which team members engage in perspective taking. We propose that perspective taking helps realize the creative benefits of diversity of perspectives by fostering information elaboration. Results of a laboratory experiment support the hypothesized interaction between diversity and perspective taking on team creativity. Diverse teams performed more creatively than homogeneous teams when they engaged in perspective taking, but not when they were not instructed to take their team members' perspectives. Team information elaboration was found to mediate this moderated effect and was associated with a stronger indirect effect than mere information sharing or task conflict. Our results point to perspective taking as an important mechanism to unlock diversity's potential for team creativity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Task versus relationship conflict,team performance,and team member satisfaction: a meta-analysis

This study provides a meta-analysis of research on the associations between relationship conflict, task conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. Consistent with past theorizing, results revealed strong and negative correlations between relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction. In contrast to what has been suggested in both academic research and introductory textbooks, however, results also revealed strong and negative (instead of the predicted positive) correlations between task conflict team performance, and team member satisfaction. As predicted, conflict had stronger negative relations with team performance in highly complex (decision making, project, mixed) than in less complex (production) tasks. Finally, task conflict was less negatively related to team performance when task conflict and relationship conflict were weakly, rather than strongly, correlated.     

What's the difference? Insider perspectives on the importance,content, and meaning of interpersonal differences

This study presents a new approach to examine how team members experience interpersonal differences. This approach offers a way to examine how team members experience their differences with specific other individuals, and how these differences are related to the amount of perceived conflict with these individuals in an organizational context. Data from a non‐profit governmental institution in The Netherlands were analysed, including 80 participants from 15 diverse teams. Five types of differences were salient to the individuals in this sample: differences related to extraversion; work pose; approach to work; task‐related expertise; and seniority. Furthermore, individuals tend to contrast positive and negative evaluations of differences related to extraversion and approaches to work, but to conceptualize positive and negative evaluations of task‐related expertise, seniority, and work pose as more mutually independent phenomena. Moreover, we found that differences related to task‐related expertise were negatively related to both task and relationship conflict. In contrast, differences related to extraversion were positively related to both task and relationship conflict. Finally, the approach‐to‐work cluster was positively related to only task conflict.