A contingency 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, 2003b) to propose a contingency perspective. This article continues this approach and analyses the influence of types of conflict on group members' satisfaction and well-being, 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 well-being; (b) task conflicts decrease private organization workers' satisfaction and affective well-being, while this dysfunctional effect is absent in public organizations; (c) goal orientation culture moderates the effect of task conflict in private organizations; and (d) support orientation culture moderates the effect of task conflict in public organizations.