“MOB” Mentality?: On the Formation and Consequences of Moralized Opinion-Based Intergroup Conflict in Organizations

Organizations and their employees are increasingly engaging publicly with social issues, such as climate change, systemic racism, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Why does such engagement sometimes result in conflict and dysfunction in organizations? To build a theoretical foundation for answering this question, we bridge insights from research on opinion-based groups and psychological research on moralization to theorize a novel type of group—a moralized opinion-based (MOB) group—defined as an identity group that forms around a shared opinion that has been moralized by group members. We explain how the emotion of disgust affects opinion moralization, and why this makes MOB intergroup conflict uniquely dehumanizing, contagious, and difficult to resolve. We also explain how distinct configurations of MOB groups and formal groups in organizations can foster unique patterns of conflict—ultimately affecting members’ strength of identification foci, as well as their productivity. We offer practical suggestions for more productively engaging with social issues, and suggest a research agenda for better understanding the process and outcomes of MOB intergroup conflict in organizations.