The Influence Mechanism Of Team Conflict On Team Performance

This research is an exploration of effect of team conflict on team output from the perspective of team learning theory with the goal of finding out through what intervening mechanisms team conflict (task conflict and relationship conflict) effects team innovation and performance. With the study object of innovation team of high-tech enterprise, the research structured and tested a two-dimensional structure of team conflict concept idea and developed a learning process model of team conflict by reviewing and consulting previous relevant studies and theories combing the characteristics of innovation team. On the research basis, we set the following research questions:is the effect of team task conflict on team performance positive or negative? What is the effect mechanism? What regulatory factors will affect the mechanism in its critical path? With the main clue of team conflict-team study-team output, we made a systematic study on the questions above using the methods of literature review, focus group interview and questionnaire.First, the research explained the two-dimensional effect mechanism of team conflict to team learning in two ways. Research results indicate that on the one hand, the task conflict of team may have a positive effect on the exploratory learning; on the other hand, there is a positive correlation between the task conflict and relationship conflict of team, and the relationship conflict may have a negative effect on team learning (including the exploratory learning and explicatory learning). The research reveals a black box of the effect mechanism of task conflict to team learning.Second, the research indicates that the team learning has a mediate effect between team conflict and team output, and explains the effect mechanisms of different team learning dimensions to different team outputs. Research results show that the exploratory learning has a mediate effect in the positive relationship between team task conflict and team output (team performance and team innovation); the exploratory learning of team has a mediate effect in the negative relationship between team relationship conflict and team output (team performance and team innovation); the exploratory learning only mediates the relationship of team task conflict and team performance, but its mediate effect in the relationship of relationship conflict and team innovation hasn’t been proved. It is the second black box revealed in current study which is explaining the effect mechanism of team conflict and team output from the perspective of learning theory.Last, after expounding the effect mechanism of task conflicts to team learning, the research attempted to find out in what conditions the task conflict would have a positive effect on team performance. Therefore, we introduced group atmosphere and the type of team conflict as moderating variables to explore the boundary limitations affecting team learning. Results of empirical study indicates that among the five dimensions of group atmospheres, trust between team members, open atmosphere and team cohesion have negative moderate effects to the positive correlation of task conflict and relationship conflict, thus reducing the negative effect of task conflict on team learning; while the moderate effects of respect and similarity of team members haven’t been proved. The research on these moderate effect mechanisms provides guidance and recommendations for the management practice of innovation team of high-tech enterprise.