Task Conflict snd Relationship Conflict in Top Management Teams:The Pivotal Role of Intragroup Trust.

The authors found that intragroup trust moderates the relationship between task conflict and relationship conflict in 70 top management teams, and infer that trust is a key to gaining the benefits of task conflict without suffering the costs of relationship conflict.

Abstract

Prior research suggests that task conflict is often constructive, while relationship conflict is destructive. The two conflict types are intercorrelated in ongoing groups, however, which creates a prescriptive dilemma. We propose that trust moderates this relationship by affecting conflict interpretation processes. Data from 79 top management teams supports our hypothesis.