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The contingent effect of constructive confrontation on the relationship between shared mental models and decision quality
Author(s) -
Kellermanns Franz W.,
Floyd Steven W.,
Pearson Allison W.,
Spencer Barbara
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/job.497
Subject(s) - constructive , similarity (geometry) , psychology , quality (philosophy) , contingency , diversity (politics) , social psychology , contingency theory , computer science , epistemology , knowledge management , artificial intelligence , political science , law , process (computing) , philosophy , image (mathematics) , operating system
Work teams are being utilized more frequently to give organizations access to the broader knowledge and skill base of employees, as well as to provide for adaptive, efficient decision‐making. In teams, we argue that constructive confrontation norms are an important contingency variable in the relationship between mental model similarity and decision quality. Mental model similarity helps team members understand one another's perspectives and reduces the likelihood of conflict. Accordingly, mental model similarity improves decision quality. When strong norms of constructive confrontation are in place, however, teams are in a better position to reap the benefits of conflict (greater diversity of inputs) without experiencing its negative consequences. Thus, when constructive confrontation norms are strong, less mental model similarity (i.e., more diversity of perspectives) is likely to improve decision quality. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.