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Conflict is inherent whenever employees are required to work interdependently, such as within workplace teams. Yet in the face of such conflict, some teams thrive, whereas others suffer. As team-based tasks continue to increase in popularity, it is imperative that an examination of the underlying boundary conditions be undertaken to better assess under which circumstances team performance improves because of conflict, or the negative effects of conflict are minimized. Therefore, we seek to advance research and benefit practicing managers through a comprehensive review of the research that has examined contingencies in the relationship between conflict and performance in teams in order to better understand when disagreements among team members might improve, rather than harm, team performance. Specifically, we utilize a triumvirate approach to organize our review around 2 foundational theories of team conflict-- complexity and information processing--as well as a more recent theoretical advance-- the theory of conflict expressions. In doing so, we seek to create a deeper understanding of beneficial conflict by systematically categorizing the empirical and theoretical advances in this line of research while also identifying opportunities for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although prior work has proposed a number of conditions under which task conflict in teams may improve performance, composition variables have been left unexplored. Given the effects of personality traits on team processes and outcomes demonstrated in prior work, investigating whether specific personality compositions influence the effect of task conflict on team performance is critical to researchers' understanding of conflict in teams. Our results indicate that team-level averages of both openness to experience and emotional stability function as moderators of the relationship between task conflict and team performance. Specifically, task conflict had a positive impact on performance in teams with high levels of openness or emotional stability; in contrast, task conflict had a negative impact on performance in teams with low levels of openness or emotional stability. Thus, when task conflict emerges, teams composed of members who are open minded or emotionally stable are best able to leverage conflict to improve performance. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Past research suggests that task conflict may improve team performance under certain conditions; however, we know little about these specific conditions. On the basis of prior theory and research on conflict in teams, we argue that a climate of psychological safety is one specific context under which task conflict will improve team performance. Using evidence from 117 project teams, the present research found that psychological safety climate moderates the relationship between task conflict and performance. Specifically, task conflict and team performance were positively associated under conditions of high psychological safety. The results support the conclusion that psychological safety facilitates the performance benefits of task conflict in teams. Theoretical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.