Rethinking the role of team mindfulness in team relationship conflict: A conflict management perspective

Abstract

SummaryWhy and when does team mindfulness help to reduce team relationship conflict? To answer this question, we develop and test a theoretical model that builds on Deutsch's theory of cooperation and competition. A two‐wave time‐lagged survey was conducted with 68 teams in an airline food service company located in China. The results showed that team mindfulness was negatively related to team relationship conflict via an increased cooperative conflict approach and a decreased competitive conflict approach. Further, high team job demands were shown to weaken the positive direct effect of team mindfulness on a cooperative conflict approach, as well as the indirect effect of team mindfulness on team relationship conflict via a cooperative approach. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.