Managing co-occurring conflicts in teams

There is growing recognition that theorizing about team process needs to better reflect the dynamic and complex nature of teamwork. This study extends prior research by showing that effectively managing team conflict depends on what other team conflicts are co-occurring. Drawing on the intra-group conflict and broader organizational behavior literature, we generate hypotheses about why some some types of conflict can enhance while other types can deplete the team's ability to respond to co-occurring conflicts effectively. Accounts of co-occuring conflict and managmenet strategies were obtained from interviews with 44 members of negotiating teams across various industries. Our results suggest task conflict enhances the effectiveness of teams' responses to co-occurring process conflicts, but that procedural conflicts, especially challenges associated with team members' Disruptive Contributions (team members acting uncoordinated with the team) deplete the effectiveness of teams' responses to co-occurring task conflicts.