CONFLICT MANAGEMENT The Psychology of conflict and conflict ...

26 DE DREU AND GELFAND
conflicts of interest between groups strengthen within-group cohesion and
individual work motivation to contribute to the group’s success.
Other work on resource-based conflicts between groups points toward
the same conclusion. Putnam (1997) analyzed teacher–board negotiations
and concluded that active confrontation through negotiation promotes
intergroup communication, increases mutual understanding, and results in
greater acceptance of agreements and decisions than more tacit coordination.
Finally, Walton, Cutcher-Gershenfeld, and McKersie (1994, pp. 72–73)
reported both the negative and the positive consequences of union–management
negotiations in the auto-supply, the pulp and paper, and the railroad
industries. Inspection of their data reveals that within the pulp and
paper industry, 20% of the negotiations resulted in negative consequences
only, such as costly strikes, while 20% of the negotiations improved organizational
effectiveness parameters. For the auto supply and the railroad
industries, these percentages were 30 and 60, and 25 and 50, respectively.
Apparently, active confrontation between competing groups—teams picking
oranges, teacher and board representatives, or union and management—influences
distal task performance at the overarching organizational
level in a sometimes fairly positive way. As we will discuss below, however,
the national culture context is likely a key moderator of the impact of active
confrontation on performance in teams.
Conflict and Well-Being
Workplace conflict has important consequences for health and wellbeing
(De Dreu, Van Dierendonck, & Dijkstra, 2004; Spector & Jex, 1998;
see also Spector & Bruk-Lee, chapter 9, this volume). Conflict is a social
stressor, bringing about stress responses such as elevated heart rate,
increased respiration, dry mouth, and increased alertness. These responses
are, in principle, functional and reflect the individual’s readiness to cope
with the stressful situation. When the stressor continues to be present and
responses continue to be in effect, however, psychic and physical exhaustion
may lead to deteriorated health and well-being.
Although all types of conflict may elicit stress, it seems reasonable to
assume that resource-based conflicts of interest and sociocognitive task
conflicts produce less severe and less intense stress than identity-based
value and relationship conflicts. The idea behind this is that identityrelated
conflicts are more fundamental and emotional (De Dreu et al.,
2004). Prolonged exposure to conflict may therefore result in behavioral
consequences such as absenteeism, accident proneness, and drug abuse;
psychological consequences such as lowered self-esteem and self-efficacy;
psychosomatic complaints (Spector & Jex, 1998); or burnout (Dijkstra, Van
Dierendonck, Evers, & De Dreu, 2005).
Reduced health and well-being is likely to manifest itself at higher levels
of analysis. A unit with frequent conflicts between leaders and employ-