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Group Decision and Negotiation

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27-05-2016

Breaking Silos: A Field Experiment on Relational Conflict Management in Cross-Functional Teams

Authors: Smaranda Boroş, Lore van Gorp, Brecht Cardoen, Robert Boute

Published in: Group Decision and Negotiation | Issue 2/2017

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Abstract

In this paper we investigate how effective conflict management in conflict asymmetry situations impacts the quality of cross-functional management teams’ performance. During a 5-day business simulation, we explore the consequences of the relational conflicts and conflict asymmetry experienced by team members. We use two different measures of conflict asymmetry: the traditional group conflict asymmetry measurement of Jehn (Adm Sci Q 40:256–282, 1995) and a social networks method. We find that when some team members evoke more conflict than others, this affects the evolution of team dynamics (and ultimately the performance of the team) even more than high levels of conflict altogether; however, group emotional awareness can mitigate this negative effect and improve the team performance through the appropriate use of conflict management strategies. Since group emotional awareness can be fostered and trained within teams, this is of practical value to improve the performance of cross-functional management teams.

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Title: Breaking Silos: A Field Experiment on Relational Conflict Management in Cross-Functional Teams
Authors: Smaranda Boroş
Lore van Gorp
Brecht Cardoen
Robert Boute
Publication date: 27-05-2016
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: Group Decision and Negotiation / Issue 2/2017
Print ISSN: 0926-2644
Electronic ISSN: 1572-9907
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-016-9487-5

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