Article

Seeing Conflict: A Study of Conflict Accuracy in Work Teams

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Abstract

This study examines individual conflict accuracy, or the ability of a team member to make accurate judgments about dyadic conflict between others. We examine team member accuracy in identifying the presence of conflict between two team members and argue that individuals differ in the extent to which they accurately make judgments about conflict. We maintain that specific factors determine whether conflict is seen or not. We develop a framework for understanding individual conflict accuracy that takes into account pre‐existing beliefs about the consequences that conflict has for team performance, the extent to which one is in conflict with other team members, and one's structural position within the network of team relationships. Our analyses of nearly 3,000 assessments made by team members about conflict between two of their teammates provide general support for the proposition that individual, interpersonal, and structural factors play a role in explaining team members' conflict accuracy.

Keywords: conflict beliefs, network, accuracy, conflict

How to Cite:

Avgar, A. & Neuman, E., (2015) “Seeing Conflict: A Study of Conflict Accuracy in Work Teams”, Negotiation and Conflict Management Research 8(2), 65-84. doi: https://doi.org/10.34891/gb38-v926