The Moderating Role of Overall Justice Climate in Relationship-task Conflict and Task Conflict-group Performance Linkages

Abstract

Studies on intragroup conflict have divided conflict types as task conflict and relationship conflict and focused on the separated effect of each conflict type on group performance. However, the majority of empirical findings suggests that not only relationship conflict, but also task conflict has negative effects on group performance. In addition, the previous findings on the high and positive correlations between two conflict types lead researchers to pay attention to the conflict transformation processes. The purpose of this study has two folds. First, this study examines the moderating role of overall justice climate in the relationships between two conflict types. Second, this study examines the moderating effects of overall justice climate on the relationships between task conflict and group performance. To do this, this study obtained survey data from 83 work groups. Findings suggested that overall justice climate significantly moderated the relationships between two conflict types. That is, when overall justice climate was low, there was a strong and positive correlation between relationship conflict and task conflict. But when overall justice climate was high, relationship conflict was not positively related to task conflict. The results of this study also suggested that there was a significant moderating effect of overall justice climate on the relationship between task conflict and group performance. That is, when overall justice climate was low, the effect of task conflict on group performance was strongly negative. But when overall justice climate was high, the negative effect of task conflict on group performance disappeared.