The mediating effects of cognitive conflict and affective conflict on the relationship between new product development task uncertainty and performance

Abstract

Little is known about the antecedent and consequence of conflict in a New Product Development (NPD) setting. This study classifies conflict into two types, namely cognitive conflict and affective conflict, and explores (1) how NPD task uncertainty leads to cognitive and affective conflict and (2) how such conflicts work toward NPD performance. Based on Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), this study examines the proposed relationships using matching data from focal companies and their suppliers. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was performed to examine the proposed hypotheses, with the following outcomes: (1) NPD task uncertainty simultaneously provokes cognitive and affective conflict and (2) the two conflicts affect NPD performance in opposite directions. Consistent with earlier findings, the results of this study confirm that cognitive conflict works positively whereas affective conflict works negatively toward NPD performance.