Task and relationship conflict in short-term and long-term groups : the critical role of emotion regulation

Abstract

PURPOSE : The purpose of this paper is to examine the triple interaction of task conflict, emotion regulation and group temporariness on the emergence of relationship conflict. DESIGN /METHODOLOGY /APPROACH : A field study was conducted to test the interaction of emotion regulation and task conflict on the emergence of relationship conflict in 43 ad-hoc groups with 44 permanent groups. FINDINGS : The results show that the highest chance that task conflict evolves into relationship conflict is when groups (both ad-hoc and permanent) have less effective emotion regulation processes, while task and relationship conflict are rather decoupled in permanent groups scoring high on emotion regulation. RESEARCH LIMITATONS / IMPLICATIONS : This study concludes with a discussion of the obtained results in terms of their implications for conflict management in teams. Further research should explore the moderation effects in longitudinal studies in order to fully test the variables in our model. ORIGINALITY / VALUE : The paper answers the call for contingency models of intragroup conflict and tests the moderating effect of two such contingencies in the relationship between task and relationship conflict.