Teams and conflict management style: The moderating effect of conflict management style on the relationship between the type of conflict and team effectiveness in continuous work teams

A field study of 57 continuous work teams (328 employees; 45% women, average age 32.3 years old) in six organizations, investigated the potential effect the type of conflict (relationship or task) had on team effectiveness measures. Additionally, the moderating effect of conflict management style (integrating and avoiding) on the relationship between the type of conflict and team effectiveness dimensions was also investigated. Regression analyses demonstrated that task conflict significantly affected social cohesion and task cohesion, while relationship conflict significantly affected social cohesion and production quantity. Hierarchical moderated regression analyses also demonstrated that an avoiding conflict management style significantly moderated the relationship between task conflict and task cohesion. Overall, this study demonstrated that the type of conflict does matter when examining the relationship between conflict and team effectiveness, but conflict management style does not. However, researchers and practitioners should be cautioned in discounting the usefulness of conflict management style. Because only two conflict management styles were examined, any further conclusions would be premature until all five conflict management styles are examined and reported. Strengths and limitations, future research opportunities, and implications for practitioners are discussed