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Purpose: Using a within-subject vignette experiment, this study aims to disentangle the differential effect of task and relationship conflict on team effectiveness and interpersonal outcomes. In addition, the authors aimed to test the moderating role of the conflict inducing person's gender on task and relationship conflict outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected using four vignettes administered to 151 participants from an Air Force military organization. Findings: Relationship conflict was more damaging than task conflict for team effectiveness, the harmonious interpersonal relations and the expected positive affective team climate. Task conflict triggers more positive emotions than relationship conflict and, in consequence, team effectiveness is higher in scenarios with the task rather than relationship conflict. The groups in which conflict is induced by a woman are not expected to perform better than groups in which the conflict is induced by a man. The similarity between participant's gender and the gender of the person that generated the conflict accentuates rather than attenuates the effectiveness decline associated with relationship conflict. Task conflict triggers cooperative, while relationship conflict triggers assertive conflict management strategies. Research limitations/implications: This study provided only a snapshot on how task and relationship conflict are perceived to relate to the various team and individual-level outcomes, particularly in military settings. Originality/value: The findings evidence the differential effect of task and relationship conflict not only on team effectiveness but also on attitudinal and emotional team and individual-level outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine how and when task and process conflicts relate to relationship conflict by detailing the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating effect of emotional intelligence. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data were collected from 462 employees working in different organizations in Pakistan. Findings: The results revealed that individuals engaged in task and process conflicts are more likely to feel negative emotions toward others and consequently are more likely to engage in relationship conflict in the workplace. This mediated relationship of task and process conflicts with relationship conflict via negative emotions is lower when employees are more emotionally intelligent. Practical implications: This study pinpointed a key mechanism, negative emotions, by which task and process conflicts lead to relationship conflict. Emotionally intelligent individuals are better at regulating their negative emotions; therefore, emotional intelligence training can be an effective tool for minimizing employees' negative emotions during task and process conflicts, which can help reduce relationship conflict. Originality/value: By examining the mediating role of negative emotions and the moderating effect of emotional intelligence, this study adds to the previous research by detailing how and when task and process conflicts lead to relationship conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the differential association of three different workplace conflicts on employee-related outcomes, such as loneliness and well-being. Further, the study pursues to explore the perceived social support at the workplace as a conditional factor in the relation between different conflict types and employee loneliness. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected using a self-administered survey from 554 IT employees. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the study postulations. Findings: The findings indicated that all three types of conflicts differently associate on both loneliness and well-being. Besides, it found that loneliness works as a mediator between conflict types and employee well-being. Further, perceived social support at the workplace moderates the relationship between different types of conflict, such as relationship, process, task conflicts and employee loneliness at work. Practical implications: The study provides helpful directions to HR managers by providing a clear empirical understanding of the types of conflicts and its association on employee-related outcomes. Further, the study highlights the need for developing social support in an organisation during conflict episodes, to manage the adverse association of these conflicts on employee well-being and to restore employee well-being. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, for the first time, a study has been conducted highlighting the differential association of workplace conflict and employee outcome and indicating its intervening mechanisms and conflict management conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to suggest why the theoretically positive relationship between task conflict and team performance has received mixed empirical support. Design/methodology/approach -- We review the literature on task conflict and offer explanations for findings that contradict the expected positive relationship between task conflict and team performance. Findings -- High levels of correlation among task, relationship and process conflict, and measurement and data analysis issues make it difficult to isolate the effects of each type of conflict. Group-level moderators, including values congruence, goal alignment, norms for debate and the group's performance history and conflict history affect the relationship between task conflict and performance. The complex relationship between conflict and trust may cause task conflict to have mixed effects on performance. Individual differences and conflict management approaches also affect the relationship between task conflict and performance. Temporal issues and stages of group development are other relevant influences. Practical implications -- To better achieve the theorized performance benefits of task conflict, a context characterized by trust is needed. Then norms fostering task conflict can be cultivated and employees can be trained in conflict management. Individual differences that affect team members' ability to confidently accept task conflict can be considered in selection. Originality/value -- Suggestions are presented for future research that may explain discrepant findings in the past empirical literature. In particular, it may be difficult for some team members to perceive task conflict in well-functioning teams. Measures of task conflict that avoid the use of words with a negative connotation should be tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]