La thkorie et la recherche sur les conflits coopkratif et compktitif ont des implications lourdes de consequences pour la gestion des conflits dans les organisations, mais aussi dans les familles ou dans les societts. Pour le diffkrencier de la competition, le conflit est defini comme relevant d'activitks incompatibles plut6t que d'intCr&ts opposks. Quand les protagonistes mettent en avant leur interdkpendance, on s'est a p e r p qu'ils expriment franchement leurs diffkrents points de vue, examinent et prennent en considkration les avis opposCs avec un esprit ouvert et les intkgrent dans des solutions nouvelles qu'ils appliquent avec conviction. Les recherches experimentales ont enrichi la connaissance de la dynamique de cette contradiction constructive et les travaux dans ce domaine montrent qu'elle a un impact sur la motivation des salaries, le leadership efficace, l'innovation, la qualitk du service fourni au client et autres dimensions organisationnelles de premikre importance. I1 faudra encore beaucoup de recherches et d'klaborations thkoriques pour comprendre l'arbitrage des conflits cooperatifs et competitifs, kclaircir les processus qui ambnent les protagonistes a decider que leurs objectifs sont prioritairement cooptratifs ou competitifs, illustrer la valeur du conflit compktitif et appliques la thkorie dans des champs interculturels. Les dCfis pratiques imposent de concevoir des prockdures valides pour dkvelopper le conflit coopkratif, surtout lors de conflits aigus, apparemment insolubles. Le conflit coopkratif est loin d'&tre une panacke, mais c'est une faGon pertinente de s'attaquer aux diffkrends.Theory and research in cooperative and competitive conflict have potentially important implications for managing conflict in organisations as well as families and societies. To distinguish it from competition, conflict is defined as
SummaryAlthough still widely assumed to be disruptive, conflict, when managed appropriately, has been found to make teamwork within and between organizations effective. However, organizational members often have competitive relationships and orientations to dealing with conflict that lead to conflict avoidance and escalation, approaches that sabotage decision-making and relational bonds. Conflict researchers have contributed to the bad reputation of conflict by confounding conflict and competition and suggesting that the kind of conflict, rather than its management, determines its outcomes. Studies in the West and East indicate that by developing cooperative relationships and the skills to discuss diverse views open-mindedly, organizations can empower managers and employees to use conflict to probe problems, create innovative solutions, learn from their experience, and enliven their relationships.
The study empirically links conflict management literature with research on efficacy and organizational teams. Sixty-one self-managing teams with 489 employees were recruited from the production department of a leading electronic manufacturer. Structural equation analysis supports the model that a cooperative instead of competitive approach to conflict leads to conflict efficacy that in turn results in effective performance as measured by managers. Findings suggest how organizational teams can be prepared to make use of their autonomy to deal with problems and conflicts so that they are productive. The authors thank &off Maruyama, David W. Johnson, and other members of Steve Alper's dissertation committee for their support. They appreciate the financial support of the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, RGC grant project No: U3890/96H to the second author, and thank Eleanor MacDonald and Michelle Berner for their valuable contributions. Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Dean Tjosvold, Department of Management, Lingnan University, Then Mun, Hong Kong; tjosvold@ln.edu.hk. COPYRIGHT 0 2000 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY. INC. 625 626 PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGYdevelop efficacy that they can deal with their conflicts; this efficacy in turn results in effective team performance. Conflict in Organizational TeamsAlthough organizational research on groups and conflict have proceeded somewhat independently (Hackman
Top management teams may be critical for developing organizations that can keep abreast of marketplace changes and innovate. Several streams of strategy research have argued that conflict and diversity promote top management team effectiveness. This study proposes that how top management teams manage conflict can greatly contribute to their effective leadership of organizational innovation. A total of 378 executives from 105 organizations in China completed measures of conflict management (cooperative, competitive, and avoiding) and productive conflict (an outcome of conflict). Separately, 105 CEOs from these firms indicated their team's effectiveness and their organization's innovativeness. Results support the theory that conflict management can contribute to making top management teams effective. Structural equation analysis suggests that cooperative conflict management promotes productive conflict and top management team effectiveness that in turn result in organizational innovation. These results, coupled with previous research, were interpreted as suggesting that cooperative conflict management is an important contributor to effective top management teams even in the collectivist culture of China.
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