A Contingence Perspective on the Study of the Consequences of Conflict Types : The Role of Organizational Culture

The potential positive or negative consequence of relationship conflict versus task conflict for group members and organizations continues to be a controversial topic. Whereas a certain amount of agreement exists on the negative consequences of relationship conflict, the evidence for task conflict is not as conclusive. This has led some authors (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003a,b) to propose a contingence perspective. This article continues this approach and analyzes the influence of types of conflict on group members' satisfaction and wellbeing, considering the moderating role that organizational culture plays in this relationship. Two types of service organization have been studied; private organizations with a high goal oriented culture, and public organizations with a low goal oriented culture. Results show that a) relationship conflict decreases both public and private workers' job satisfaction and affective wellbeing; b) task conflicts decrease private organization workers' satisfaction and affective wellbeing, while this dysfunctional effect is absent in public organizations; c) goal orientation moderates the effect of task conflict in private organizations; and d) support orientation moderates the effect of task conflict in public organizations