Relationship Conflict, Conflict Management, and Performance of Information Technology Teams

Abstract

This study examines how team collaboration and goal setting mediate the effects of team relationship conflict and conflict management on team performance. Primary data were collected from students who worked in teams to design functional information systems (IS). The data were then analyzed using structural equations modeling (SEM). The mediators – team collaboration and goal setting – positively affected each other and performance. Full results support a partial mediation model in which 60% of the total effect of relationship conflict and 80% of the total effect of conflict management on team performance are carried through team collaboration and goal setting. This work is the first of its kind that theoretically posits and empirically tests a mechanism through which team conflict and its management relate to team performance.