Group Membership Salience and the Movement of Conflict

Abstract

Conflict in and among groups often erupts in surprising and unexpected ways. Building upon extant theory regarding the movement of conflict, the authors posit that conflict gets enacted in distinct ways when individuals and groups are heterogeneous. The relative impermeability of identity group boundaries fundamentally changes the patterns of interaction required to achieve a state of balance in three-party interactions. The authors present two cases that explore the movement and transformation of conflict among employees in a large financial institution. The intricate dynamics suggest that organization and identity group memberships spawn layers of interaction that generate, escalate, resolve, and/or conceal conflict among organizational participants.