Suchergebnisse

In this article we aim to generate theory about how individuals perceive their relationships with team members, and their emotional experiences within the team member exchange (TMX) process. Findings from qualitative and quantitative analyses are presented, with data collected from 25 full-time employees working within five teams in two organizations. The qualitative results reveal a variety of exchanges that occur within the team member relationships, including relationship-oriented exchanges and task-oriented exchanges. Team members highlighted the importance of friendship within the team context, and that they experienced positive and negative emotions in response to their TMX relationships. The quantitative results also indicated that positive emotions, rather than negative emotions, were associated with high-quality TMX relationships.

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine whether and how abusive supervision climate impacts team conflict from a mindfulness perspective. Prior research has identified serious dysfunctional effects of abusive supervision climate in teams. Team conflict, which is often a signal for dysfunctional relationships in teams, has however received limited attention. To contribute to this line of research, this study develops and tests a theoretical model on the role of team mindfulness in understanding the link between abusive supervision climate and task, process, and relationship conflict.


Design/methodology/approach
To test the theoretical model, this study collected and analyzed two-wave time-lagged data from 499 employees in 92 teams.


Findings
The results showed that abusive supervision climate aggravated task conflict and process conflict via diminishing levels of team mindfulness. Abusive supervision climate also exacerbated relationship conflict, but the effects did not occur via a decrease in team mindfulness.


Practical implications
While it may not always be possible to prevent the development of an abusive supervision climate in workplaces, other interventions may prevent conflict in teams with abusive leaders. As indicated by the findings, task conflict and process conflict may be reduced if teams are high on mindfulness. Interventions that stimulate team mindfulness might thus improve collaboration in teams with abusive leaders.


Originality/value
This research offers novel insights regarding how abusive leaders might instigate conflict within teams. Specifically, through the unique perspective of mindfulness, the authors are able to offer new insights into how abusive supervision climate affects task, process and relationship conflict. This study offers a novel, yet important, lens to examine how conflict occurs in teams.