When interpersonal goal conflict results in general team conflict: An experiment considering intrapersonal tension as a mediator

Interpersonal goal conflict occurs when at least one team member has a goal that interferes with the achievement of other team members' goals. Such interpersonal goal conflict has an impact on a variety of team outcomes (e.g., team performance, well-being) and may theoretically lead to general team conflict, although the latter has not yet been empirically investigated. Hence, the primary aim of this study is to examine whether interpersonal goal conflict has an impact on general team conflict. In addition, a secondary aim is to examine whether intrapersonal tension may be a mediator of this relationship. Increased intrapersonal tension (including negative emotions) may be a necessary condition for interpersonal goal conflict to lead to general team conflict. A between-subject experiment with three conditions was conducted. In all conditions, participants (N = 80 male sports science students; M_age = 22.64 years, SD = 2.72) performed in a team of three (including a confederate). The team goal was to perform an interactive task on a bicycle ergometer. Interpersonal goal conflicts were induced by threatening the achievement of the team goal through additive deviant individual goal-behavior constellations in the experimental conditions. Perceived intrapersonal tension (mediator) and perceived general team conflict (dependent variable) were measured after the task. An ANOVA showed that general team conflict was higher in the experimental condition with an additional deviant behavior (DB) than in the control condition (CC) and the experimental condition with an additional deviant goal without deviant behavior (DG); there were no significant differences between CC and DG. A mediation analysis showed that the relationship between goal incompatibility and general team conflict, partly mediated via intrapersonal tension, was stronger in DB than in DG. The experiment with young adult males provides evidence that interpersonal goal conflict behavior (and not just the existence of a deviant goal) leads to general team conflict, which is partly explained by intrapersonal tension among team members.