The Relationship Between Intragroup Conflict, Group Size and Work Effectiveness

Abstract

The relationship between dimensions of intragroup conflict and work group effectiveness (group delivery and work group job satisfaction), and the moderating effects of group size on this relationship, was investigated. Although the traditional conceptualization of intragroup conflict as a two-dimensional conflict, the ICS (Jehn, 1992; 1994), has shed light on the relationship between intragroup conflict and work group effectiveness, it has not been able to fully explain this relationship. Thus, I theoretically developed a four-dimensional intragroup conflict model with a cognitive task conflict and an emotional person conflict dimension, defined similarly, but not identically, to the emotional/relationship and cognitive/task conflict dimensions currently in use, as well as a cognitive person conflict and an emotional task conflict dimension, which are new. The model was operationalized in a four-dimension intragroup conflict (4IC) scale, and was found to have satisfactory statistical and psychometric properties.