Conflict management and innovation performance: an integrated contingency perspective

In recent years, many of the basic assumptions underlying organizational conflict research have changed, drawing into question the validity of some previous research findings. Operating from the perspective that conflict is complex, multidimensional, and context specific, this research takes a fresh look at key conflict antecedents, mediators, and consequences in the context of the innovation process. The study investigates the relationships among five behavioral conflict-handling strategies, destructive and constructive conflict, and innovation performance as perceived by 290 R&D and marketing department managers. Empirical results both support and question some of the previous findings in conflict research. The results indicate that integrating, accommodating, compromising, forcing, and avoiding conflict-handling strategies can have different impacts on constructive and destructive conflict in an innovation context. Key Words: conflict management • new product development