A Case Study on the Team Conflict Phenomenon in IT Service Project

Compared to research on the success of IT projects in general, research on the management of conflict in IT teams and its impact on project success is insufficient. This research performed a comparative study to analyze the nature and evolving phenomenon of conflicts in IT project teams. This study aimed at; First, Why a conflict is created within and around an IT project team. Second, What is the phenomenon of conflict evolution, diffusion, and/or resolution? Third, How the differences in conflict management style affects the IT project performance? Three propositions were drawn from the analysis of two intensive analysis of conflict cases and their comparison. Proposition 1 : Both 'the method of pointing out a problem' and 'the pointed-out contents' can be the trigger of conflicts around an IT project. Proposition 2 : While the focus of attention of one party is 'the method of pointing out a problem', if the other's and focus of attention of one party is 'the pointed-out contents', that is, if the focus of attention mismatch, the conflict can be amplified. Proposition 3 : According to the temporal nature of the relationship, e.g., short-term versus long-term, the way people approach and deal with the conflict differs