The nature and influence of conflict in virtual teams

Abstract

The use of the virtual team is increasing among organizations seeking the efficiencies associated with overcoming barriers of time, place and distance. However, conflict is emerging as a significant barrier to team performance with studies suggesting that conflict may be unmanageable in distributed groups. This study explores the nature and influence of conflict using the responses of actual virtual team members. We examine the individual effects of task, relational and process conflict on team member commitment, cohesiveness and satisfaction, as well as the proportional effects of all three conflict types. Our findings indicate that each conflict type has a particular influence on team members, but the relative proportion of each may change those determinations. Despite geographical dispersion and increased technology use, we argue that conflict in the virtual team is not unduly destructive although a range of management strategies may be necessary to ensure positive team performance.