Intragroup Conflict Research Articles

A re-assessment of Basketmaker II cave 7: massacre site or cemetery context

Our ongoing investigation of early maize farming in the American Southwest has entailed stable isotope analysis and accelerator radiocarbon dating of Basketmaker II remains from sites in the Four Corners region. Here we report radiocarbon dates on a large mortuary assemblage excavated by Richard Wetherill in 1893 from a burial cave in southeastern Utah. It has long been thought that all individuals interred in Cave 7 were massacred in a single violent attack given embedded projectiles and evidence for blunt force trauma. However, accelerator radiocarbon dates on purified bone collagen (n = 96) do not lend strong support to this argument, even among the subset of individuals with clear evidence for violent injuries. Moreover, nearly 80% of Cave 7 burials examined in the study show no evidence of perimortem trauma and no adult females or subadults under the age of 12 appear to have suffered violent deaths. Rather than an anomalous single-event massacre, the Cave 7 radiocarbon dataset suggests that raiding and intra-group, male/male violence was episodic among Basketmaker groups in southeastern Utah. Population densities were relatively high and individuals interred in Cave 7 and elsewhere in the region were heavily dependent on maize agriculture, a prehistoric economic strategy typically characterized by high amplitude fluctuations in productivity. Variability in the array of grave goods accompanying Cave 7 male burials and elsewhere suggests competitive social differentiation likely heightened during periods of resource shortfall leading to intra-group conflict, raiding and perhaps ritualized acts of violence.

The paradox of intragroup conflict: A meta-analysis.

Since the meta-analysis by De Dreu and Weingart (2003b) on the effects of intragroup conflict on group outcomes, more than 80 new empirical studies of conflict have been conducted, often investigating more complex, moderated relationships between conflict and group outcomes, as well as new types of intragroup conflict, such as process conflict. To explore the trends in this new body of literature, we conducted a meta-analysis of 116 empirical studies of intragroup conflict (n = 8,880 groups) and its relationship with group outcomes. To address the heterogeneity across the studies included in the meta-analysis, we also investigated a number of moderating variables. Stable negative relationships were found between relationship and process conflict and group outcomes. In contrast to the results of De Dreu and Weingart, we did not find a strong and negative association between task conflict and group performance. Analyses of main effects as well as moderator analyses revealed a more complex picture. Task conflict and group performance were more positively related among studies where the association between task and relationship conflict was relatively weak, in studies conducted among top management teams rather than non-top management teams, and in studies where performance was measured in terms of financial performance or decision quality rather than overall performance.

The Path to Glory is Paved with Hierarchy: When Hierarchical Differentiation Increases Group Effectiveness

Two experiments examined the psychological and biological antecedents of hierarchical differentiation and the resulting consequences for productivity and conflict within small groups. In Experiment 1, which used a priming manipulation, hierarchically differentiated groups (i.e., groups comprising 1 high-power-primed, 1 low-power-primed, and 1 baseline individual) performed better on a procedurally interdependent task than did groups comprising exclusively either all high- power or all low-power individuals. There were no effects of hierarchical differentiation on performance on a procedurally independent task. Experiment 2 used a biological marker of dominance motivation (prenatal testosterone exposure as measured by a digit-length ratio) to manipulate hierarchical differentiation. The pattern of results from Experiment 1 was replicated; mixed-testosterone groups achieved greater productivity than did groups comprising all high-testosterone or all low-testosterone individuals. Furthermore, intragroup conflict mediated the productivity decrements for the high- testosterone but not the low testosterone groups. This research suggests possible directions for future research and the need to further delineate the conditions and types of hierarchy under which hierarchical differentiation enhances rather than undermines group effectiveness.

On Issues of Validity and Especially on the Misery of Convergent Validity

On Issues of Validity and Especially on the Misery of Convergent Validity

The Bolt Wars

Subculture research on alternative sports has focused on the seemingly inevitable commodification and media co-option of these activities and their internal status hierarchies. In this article, I examine the neglected issue of how participants define the informal “rules” of a self-governed sport. Specifically, I am interested in intragroup conflict among long-time traditional rock climbers over the legitimacy of practices that reduce risk. I spent sixteen months conducting participant observation in multiple locations in the rock climbing world, collected seventeen in-depth interviews, and consulted a wide range of secondary material. Drawing on social worlds theory to analyze the sociohistorical sources of competing ideologies, the participants’ claimsmaking activities, and their strategic actions to maintain and challenge informal rules, I provide a more nuanced and complex picture of social change in alternative sports. I also demonstrate the value of the social worlds perspective for understanding the interactive construction of social worlds and participants in constant flux.

Intragroup Conflict Under the Microscope: Micro‐Conflicts in Naturalistic Team Discussions

AbstractWe argue for the value of examining micro‐conflicts, brief moment‐by‐moment disagreements in conversations, and present a test of a coding scheme for this construct. Conceptualized and measured as such, micro‐conflicts are brief rather than long‐lasting behaviors, observational rather than self‐report, and do not rely on participant retrospection. Using video data from naturalistic multidisciplinary teams, we examined type of micro‐conflicts, micro‐conflict resolution, affect, and the effect of team characteristics. Logistic regression revealed that negative affect was uncommon for micro‐conflicts but still negatively related to micro‐conflict resolution. Process micro‐conflicts were more prevalent early in teams’ life cycles and in groups that experienced more obstacles and frustrations. Future research using this micro‐behavioral construct can link immediate cognitive and affective consequences and antecedents to these micro‐disagreements. It is possible that micro‐conflicts, as minute behaviors, may be less emotionally intense and more easily resolved and thus have different implications, predictors, and correlates than macro‐, self‐reported conflicts.

Should Diversity be openly discussed or not? An explorative study in India

Completing existing forms of diversity, the paper is the first to introduce the distinction between an off-limits form of diversity and a non off-limits form of diversity. This distinction is relevant because we argue that an off-limits form of diversity will result in a shift of intragroup conflicts, while a non off-limits form of diversity will result in an escalation of intragroup conflicts. For the management of diversity, this distinction is important to appropriately assess the risks of rising diversity in organizations. Analyzing data from N = 96 schools in southern India (Kerala), religious diversity appears to be off-limits, whereas union diversity does not. As expected, union diversity was accelerated positively related to intragroup conflicts. Moreover, this positive relationship was stronger under high levels of religious diversity. In order to explain these results, we explicitly consider the particularites of Kerala. In order to draw conclusions for diversity management in German organizations, we additionally analyze which forms of diversity could unfold analogous dynamics and what implications for managers are to expect.

A Qualitative Analysis of Conflict Types: An Intragroup Conflict

This paper provides the results of an empirical study of empirical research on of the conflict within teams.The ability to face the conflict and to resolve problems efficiently is the most important factor for the success or failure of a group. Conflict is a powerful instrument of organizational change which, if managed in an opportune way, leads to the an evolution of a working group.We conducted an experiment with 147 students in 28 working groups from the Department of Management, University of Molise, Italy. In this study we analyzed the existing correlations between the level of conflict within the group and the characteristics of the team structure in terms of: friendship of the members (1st dependent variable); level of trust in the group (2nd dependent variable); diversity (3rd dependent variable). We examined the links between diversity and conflict and how different kinds of diversity influenced group conflict. We looked at two aspects of demographic diversity, age and gender and at two aspects of background diversity, educational level and work experience.The paper is presented as follows: first we analyzed the foundations of conflict within the group, our model and hypothesis. Second we develop our hypothesis. Third we describe the methodological and qualitative approach, empirical model and econometric methods as statistical analyses. Following this, we present our results and finally we draw the principal conclusions implications and limitations of our research.

Supplemental Material for The Paradox of Intragroup Conflict: A Meta-Analysis

Supplemental Material for The Paradox of Intragroup Conflict: A Meta-Analysis

When Employees Stop Talking and Start Fighting: The Detrimental Effects of Pseudo Voice in Organizations

Many organizations offer their employees the opportunity to voice their opinions about work-related issues because of the positive consequences associated with offering such an opportunity. However, little attention has been given to the possibility that offering voice may have negative effects as well. We propose that negative consequences are particularly likely to occur when employees perceive the opportunity to voice opinions to be “pseudo voice”—voice opportunity given by managers who do not have the intention to actually consider employee input (i.e., managerial disregard). The effects of this kind of deception were examined by means of a survey among employees (N = 137) and managers (N = 14) of a Dutch healthcare organization. We hypothesized and found that perceived pseudo voice led to reduced voice behavior and, as a result, increased intragroup conflict. These results imply that while offering voice opportunity is mostly seen as an effective management strategy, negative effects are likely to occur when a manager is perceived to try to deceive employees by pretending to be interested in their points of view.

Efeitos da orientação para a aprendizagem e da segurança psicológica nos conflitos nas equipas

O objectivo do presente estudo foi o de avaliar o impacto de duas dimensões específicas do clima de equipa (clima de orientação para a aprendizagem e clima de segurança psicológica), enquanto factor contextual de natureza cognitiva, nos diferentes tipos de conflito das equipas. Colocou-se a hipótese de que a relação entre orientação para a aprendizagem e os diferentes tipos de conflito é moderada pelo clima de segurança psicológica. Participaram neste estudo 218 equipas (959 indivíduos) envolvidas numa competição de estratégia e gestão que decorreu ao longo de cinco semanas. Globalmente, os resultados suportaram as hipóteses da influência directa do clima de equipa nos conflitos intragrupais no sentido em que climas mais positivos diminuem os conflitos nas equipas. Os resultados suportaram igualmente a hipótese do papel moderador da segurança psicológica na relação entre orientação para a aprendizagem e o conflito relacional e o conflito de gestão de tempo, sendo que a orientação para a aprendizagem reduz os conflitos quer relacionais quer de gestão de tempo nas situações de elevada segurança psicológica. Estes resultados chamam a atenção para a importância dos climas de equipa nos processos e dinâmicas entre os membros.

Explaining Team Performance Through Conflict Patterns Over Time

This study aims to analyze the development patterns of intragroup conflict over time (task conflict, relationship conflict and process conflict) and to investigate whether these different patterns influence team overall performance. It was expected that high performance team have, over time, a distinct pattern of intragroup conflict from average and low performance teams. The participants of this study consisted of 101 teams who participated in a management competition for five weeks. The participants answered two different surveys during the competition. Results revealed that with regard to relationship conflict and process conflict, high performance teams were significantly different from low performance teams. For task conflict, there were no significant differences between teams. Moreover, ANOVA with repeated measures revealed the existence of a stable pattern of intragroup conflict over time, regardless teams’ final performance. In our view, these results suggest the importance that the first moments of interaction have to team overall performance. Planning activities to guide team accomplishment and planning the way team will work together seem to be crucial to future successful performance of team work.

A measure of multidimensional polarization for categorical diversity data

Numerous indices measuring the degree of heterogeneity or homogeneity of small and large social entities exist. However, only recently has interest in multidimensional inequality and diversity grown. The novelty lies in looking at multiple dimensions of diversity simultaneously by asking how it is patterned across different attributes. The group faultline concept, which has gained some popularity in organizational research, is an instantiation of patterned multidimensional diversity in the context of small groups. Faultlines are thought to increase the potential for intragroup conflict. The paper provides a conceptual and operational elaboration of the group faultline concept and develops an index of patterned multidimensional diversity for categorical data based on the notion of multidimensional bipolarization. The application of this index to some illustrative group constellations leads to the conclusion that it is a valid, albeit not perfect, operationalization of faultline strength.

A cross‐cultural comparison of intragroup conflict in The Netherlands and Brazil

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine and compare the effects of emotional and task conflict on team performance and member satisfaction in two distinct cultures, Brazil and The Netherlands.Design/methodology/approachA survey with 366 team members and interviews with 20 team managers were conducted. To analyse data and test the proposed hypotheses, hierarchical regression analyses were used.FindingsFindings suggest that cultural differences between these two countries not only influence the way intragroup conflict is experienced, but also its impact on members' satisfaction and group performance. In Brazil, emotional and task conflict were both negatively associated with individuals' satisfaction and perceived team performance, while in The Netherlands no significant relationships were found between both types of conflict and team performance.Research limitations/implicationsSeveral limitations of this research must be recognized: the use of self‐report measures that may have some inherent social desirability bias; and the use of linear regressions to test relationships that may be non‐linear.Practical implicationsThis paper shows that managers need to focus on differentiating emotional and task conflict and find ways to seize the potential of task‐related conflicts.Originality/valueThe paper sheds light on how culture influences intragroup conflict and its impact on team outcomes, enlightening the role of cultural context in conflict research.

Intra-Group Conflict and Teamwork Quality: The Moderating Role of Leadership Styles

The study examines the extent to which task and relations oriented leadership moderate the impact of task and relationship conflict on teamwork quality. In a sample of 37 teams, the study shows that relationship oriented leadership is beneficial for dealing with relationship conflict, but it does not have the expected positive interaction effect with task conflict. The main practical implication of the results is that in order to mitigate the negative effects of intra-group conflict on teamwork quality the leadership style should fit the type of disagreement (task versus relational) predominantly experienced by the teams.

Intra-Group Conflict and Teamwork Quality: The Moderating Role of Leadership Styles

The study examines the extent to which task and relations oriented leadership moderate the impact of task and relationship conflict on teamwork quality. In a sample of 37 teams, the study shows that relationship oriented leadership is beneficial for dealing with relationship conflict, but it does not have the expected positive interaction effect with task conflict. The main practical implication of the results is that in order to mitigate the negative effects of intra-group conflict on teamwork quality the leadership style should fit the type of disagreement (task versus relational) predominantly experienced by the teams.

A study on the relationship between intragroup conflict and turnover intentions, and the mediating effect of job satisfaction

The study delved into the impact of intragroup conflict on turnover intentions and cultural commonalities and differences in job satisfaction that mediates the relationship. To identify correlations among intragroup conflict, job satisfaction and turnover intentions for each Korean and Chinese employee, the study analyzed questionnaires used to survey Korean employees working at Korean companies and Chinese workers in Korean companies based in China. The study divided intragroup conflict into two types - relation conflict and task conflict - and looked into the impact of each conflict on turnover intentions, and found that both types of conflict heightened turnover intentions of both Korean and Chinese workers. The study also attempted to prove the mediating effects of job satisfaction on the relationship between relation conflict and task conflict, and turnover intentions. As a result, mediating effects were found only in the relationship between relation conflict and turnover intentions among Chinese employees, while Korean workers saw the same effects only in the relationship between task conflict and turnover intentions. The above-mentioned results indicate the following implications. Firstly, there were common effects of intragroup conflict on turnover intentions for both Korean and Chinese employees. Such effect can be understood from culture universal perspective. Secondly, differences emerged in the mediating effects of job satisfaction in the relationship between turnover intentions and intra-group conflicts. That is understandable from culture specific perspective. Thirdly, the result that can be inferred from the aforementioned findings is that when it comes to cross-cultural research on methods of management, it is important to consider two types of approaches - culture universal and culture specific approaches. Lastly, the study also indicated that companies operating overseas should seek both localized and global management.

“It’s Not Conflict, It’s Differences of Opinion”

To properly manage conflict, the mechanisms of the complex conflict process must be understood. Building on existing research, the purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the conflict process by examining nonprofit board member experiences with task, process, and relationship conflict, identifying latent conditions that influence the likelihood of these conflict types, and exploring the impact of conflict within nonprofit boards. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 provincial sport organization (PSO) board members. The findings revealed that board members downplayed conflict because of its negative connotation. Furthermore, task, process, and relationship conflict were each described according to continuums of intensity ranging from respectful and professional discussion to heated and rigorous debate. The intensity of each type of conflict was perceived to be influenced by specific latent conditions and to influence both group and individual outcomes. These findings highlight the complex nature of intragroup conflict in this setting and demonstrate the need to identify intensity when examining task, process, and relationship conflict. Implications for research and practice are presented.

A study on the Relationship between Intragroup Conflict and Turnover Intentions, and the Mediating Effect of Job Satisfaction: Commonalities and Differences between Korean and Chinese Employees

본 연구는 한국과 중국의 종업원들을 대상으로 집단 내 갈등이 이직의도에 미치는 영향과, 이 과정에서 직무만족이 매개역할을 하는지 살펴보았다. 한국과 중국 종업원들 각각의 집단 내 갈등, 직무만족, 이직의도의 관계를 밝히기 위해, 한국기업에 종사하는 한국 종업원들과 재중 한국계 기업에 종사하는 중국 종업원들에게서 회수된 설문을 분석하였다. 먼저, 집단 내 갈등을 관계갈등과 과업갈등으로 구분하여 각각이 이직의도에 미치는 영향을 살펴본 결과, 한국과 중국 모두 관계갈등과 과업갈등이 이직의도를 증가시키는 것으로 나타났다. 그 다음으로 관계 및 과업갈등과 이직의도 간 직무만족의 매개효과를 검증한 결과, 중국은 관계갈등과 이직의도의 관계에서, 한국은 과업갈등과 이직의도의 관계에서만 직무만족의 매개효과가 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 다음의 시사점을 제공한다. 첫째, 이직의도에 대한 집단 내 갈등의 효과에서는 한국과 중국 간에 공통점이 나타났다. 이는 문화 보편적인 관점에서 이해할 수 있다. 둘째, 이직의도와 집단 내 갈등의 관계에서 직무만족의 매개효과는 한국과 중국 간에 차이점이 나타났다. 이는 문화 특수적인 관점에서 이해할 수 있을 것이다. 셋째, 이로 보건대, 관리방식에 대한 비교문화 연구에서 문화 특수성과 문화 보편성의 두 가지 접근을 동시에 고려함이 중요하다. 끝으로 본 연구의 한계점 및 미래연구방향을 제시하였다.

Task and Relationship Conflict at Work

The distinction between task and relationship conflict is well established. Based on Jehn’s (1995) intragroup conflict scale, we developed an economic six-item questionnaire for assessing relationship and task conflict in work groups. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on data from a convenience sample (N = 247), and confirmed the original two-factor solution. The stability of the obtained two-factor solution was supported by confirmatory factor analysis in a longitudinal design with a second sample (N = 431) from the industrial sector. In line with previous research, the two types of conflict were intercorrelated. Moreover, the two subscales showed differential longitudinal effects on team outcomes. Task conflict was beneficial for performance in nonroutine tasks (but not in routine tasks). Relationship conflict had a negative impact on team viability and coworker trust.