Validation of the Spanish version of the intragroup conflict scale (ICS-14)

Abstract

PurposeThere is increasing evidence about the key role that intragroup conflicts have for teams’ performance and its members’ well-being. However, the existing measures in the Spanish-speaking context to address intragroup conflicts suffer from important theoretical and methodological flaws. In response, this study aims to provide a valid and reliable scale to measure intragroup conflicts in organizational settings: the Intragroup Conflict Scale in its 14-item version (ICS-14: Jehn et al., 2008).Design/methodology/approachIn a cross-sectional survey design, the authors analyze the ICS’s internal consistency and reliability, factor solution and external validity by using a multilevel approach in a sample consisting of 588 workers nested in 55 production teams from a Spanish company.FindingsResults indicated that the ICS-14 exhibited good Cronbach’s alpha (0.62-0.95), omega (0.63-0.95) and multilevel alpha coefficient (0.82-0.98). In addition, in line with the theoretical conception of three types of intragroup conflicts, results from a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a three multilevel-factor solution presented the best fit to the data. Finally, multilevel analyses also showed that intragroup conflicts are associated to burnout, engagement at work and perceived team’s quality of service, which provided additional support for using the ICS-14 in the Spanish context.Practical implicationsThis study offers a reliable and valid measurement of intragroup conflict, considering the whole instrument and its different dimensions, which can be used to develop team strategies and evaluate the effect of specific interventions on conflict.Originality/valueThe authors validate the most recent 14-item version of the ICS-14 by applying a multilevel approach to a group-level construct that overcomes previous methodological flaws.