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for testing the application and review processes, and the result was almost a 6-month delayed launch.16

IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE

How does the nature of conflict affect team performance? A 2012 meta-analysis revealed a negative relationship between relationship conflict and team outcomes.17 However, there was not a significant negative relationship between task conflict and group perfor- mance, suggesting that task conflict was not detrimental to team performance. A study of 145 organizational teams revealed that task conflict predicted better group perfor- mance; but relationship conflict was associated with worse performance.18

Certain conditions enable task conflict to improve team performance. Specifically, there are three conditions under which greater task conflict can enhance team produc- tivity: task complexity, information processing capability, and appropriate expression.19 Stated succinctly, the often negative relationship between task conflict and team perfor- mance can be positive when: (1) tasks are sufficiently complex; (2) the team members can process information; and (3) conflict is expressed in an appropriate manner when it emerges. Moreover, a study of 232 employees in a health care organization revealed that mild task conflict engendered more information acquisition, however more frequent, intense task conflict hindered information acquisition.20 When team members engage in mild task conflict, they are more active, energized, interested, and excited, all of which lead to greater job satisfaction.

Relationship conflict interferes with the effort people put into a task because mem- bers are preoccupied with reducing threats, increasing power, and attempting to build cohesion rather than working on the task. The anxiety produced by interpersonal ani- mosity may inhibit cognitive functioning21 and distract team members from the task, causing them to work less effectively and produce suboptimal products.22 Relationship conflict is detrimental to both performance and satisfaction (two major indices of team productivity) because emotionality reduces team effectiveness.23 Relationship conflict

16Mark Gurman, M. (2015, June 3). Pebble blames Apple for delayed iOS Pebble Time app as first backers receive watches. 9to5Mac. 9to5mac.com; Kelly, H. (2015, September 23). Pebble launches round, thin smartwatch. CNN Money. money.cnn.com 17De Wit, F. R. C., Greer, L. L., & Jehn, K. A. (2012). The paradox of intragroup conflict: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(2), 360–390. 18Chun, J.S., & Choi, J.N. (2014). Members’ needs, intragroup conflict, and group performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(3), 437–450. 19Bradley, B.H., Anderson, H.J., Baur, J.E., & Klotz, A.C. (2015). When conflict helps: Integrating evidence for beneficial conflict in groups and teams under three perspectives. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 19(4), 243–272. 20Todorova, G., Bear, J.B., & Weingart, L.R. (2014). Can conflict be energizing? A study of task conflict, positive emotions, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(3), 451–467. 21Roseman, I., Wiest, C., & Swartz, T. (1994). Phenomenology, behaviors, and goals differentiate emotions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 206–221. 22Wilson, D. C., Butler, R. J., Cray, D., Hickson, D. J., & Mallory, G. R. (1986). Breaking the bounds of organization in strategic decision making. Human Relations, 39, 309–332. 23Jehn, K. A. (1997). A qualitative analysis of conflict types and dimensions in organizational groups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 530–557.

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