Reciprocated relational preferences and intra-team conflict

• Published in: Team performance management Vol. 15; no. 1/2; pp. 18 - 34
• Main Authors: Cur eu, Petru L, Kenis, Patrick, Raab, Jörg
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2009
• Subjects: Conflict management; Influence; Social interaction; Studies; Teams; Teams; Individual conflict; Conflict management; Social interaction
• ISSN: 1352-7592; 1758-6860
• DOI: 10.1108/13527590910937694

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to explore the effects of the interaction between team diversity and reciprocated relational preferences on task and relationship conflict in teams.Design methodological approach - The paper reports the results of an empirical study conducted on 66 teams, of which 32 were randomly created, while 34 teams were formed through a pair matching strategy (team dating).Findings - The results show that mutual positive preferences attenuated the positive impact of team diversity on relationship conflict within teams.Research limitations implications - The results support the theoretical distinction between task and relationship conflict and show that close interpersonal relations within teams have a differential impact on the two types of conflict.Practical implications - The results reported in the study support the use of the team dating strategy for team design in different organizational settings.Originality value - The paper introduces a new method for team formation based on reciprocated relational preferences.