Differentiated transformational leadership, conflict and team creativity: an experimental study in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peihua Dai ◽  
Mingming Feng ◽  
Jing Wang
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Relationship Conflict ◽  
Team Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Conflict ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose The authors investigated the impacts of differentiated transformational leadership (TFL), including team-focused TFL and individual-focused TFL, on team creativity through the mediating effect of team conflict, consisting of task conflict and relationship conflict.Design/methodology/approach The authors designed and conducted a close-to-reality experiment, enrolling 180 students and six professors from a large Chinese university. Student participants worked on a real marketing project and professor participants imitated the behaviors of transformational leaders. Using the computed values of team-focused TFL, individual-focused TFL, team creativity, task conflict and relationship conflict, the authors assessed the relationship among differentiated TFL, team creativity and team conflict.Findings Team-focused TFL has a significantly positive impact on team creativity through the mediating effect of task conflict, whereas individual-focused TFL has a significantly negative impact on team creativity through the mediating effect of relationship conflict.Originality/value From a new perspective of team conflict, the authors revealed the “black box” of the differentiated TFL–team creativity relationship. Moreover, other determinants were well controlled in the experiment, and thus, the authors effectively clarified the intervening mechanism of differentiated TFL on team creativity through the mediating effect of team conflict.

The dual effects of task conflict on team creativity

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun Kyung Lee ◽  
Ariel C. Avgar ◽  
Won-Woo Park ◽  
Daejeong Choi
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Relationship Conflict ◽  
Team Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Conflict ◽  
Positive Direct ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the dual effects of task conflict on team creativity and the role of team-focused transformational leadership (TFL) as a key contingency in the task conflict–team creativity relationship.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 325 teams across ten large companies in South Korea. The study tested the hypothesized moderated mediation model using an SPSS macro (PROCESS, Hayes, 2008).FindingsResults showed that task conflict is directly and positively related to team creativity and is negatively and indirectly related to team creativity via relationship conflict. Furthermore, the study found that team-focused TFL moderates all paths through which task conflict affects team creativity. Specifically, team-focused TFL enhances the positive direct effect of task conflict and alleviates the negative indirect effects of task conflict on team creativity.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study could not test the causal chains of the proposed relationships owing to a cross-sectional nature of data, the present research provides theoretical implications for the conflict, leadership and team creativity literatures. The study highlights the role of transformational leadership in the process through which team conflict is managed so as to increase team creativity.Practical implicationsTo capitalize on the creativity-related benefits associated with task conflict, managers will need to pay attention to the role they can play and their leadership that emphasizes collective goals and identity. Managers and team leaders are also expected to intervene in conflict situations to minimize the harmful effect of task conflict that may take place owing to the association between task conflict and relationship conflict.Social implicationsThe findings will have implications for any social contexts where people work together toward common goals. In such contexts, the study emphasizes the role of leadership in teams to use the creative potential associated with different opinions and values regarding what and how work to be completed.Originality/valueThe study’s examination of the dual paths through which task conflict affects team creativity brings insights into why the impact of task conflict on team creativity has been inconsistent or unclear in past research. This paper also articulates a leader’s role in teams in relation to managing team conflict to increase team creativity.

The relationship between R&D team diversity and team creativity

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinyong Kim ◽  
Chanhoo Song
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Team Leaders ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Team Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Team Diversity ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis study aims to explore how and what type of team diversity is related to team creativity in R&D organizations, incorporating conflict as a mediator and transformational leadership as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachSurvey questionnaires were used to collect data from 24 Korean R&D teams (185 team members, 24 team leaders and 24 managers) in the public and private sectors. The dependent variable, team creativity, was measured by questioning R&D team managers to whom R&D team leaders report directly, and the antecedents, mediator and moderator were answered by team members and their leaders.FindingsThe data confirmed that team diversity, particularly informational diversity, was positively associated with team creativity. However, conflict did not show a significant mediating effect between team diversity and creativity. Transformational leadership had a negative moderating effect between informational diversity and task conflict in such a way that when transformational leadership was high, teams with higher informational diversity showed lower task conflict between team members.Originality/valueA growing number of R&D projects require interdisciplinary efforts resulting in incorporating scientists and engineers from multiple disciplines, and growing numbers of women and minorities now choose careers in science and technology. Naturally, R&D project teams have become more diverse than before. This study provides empirical evidence from multiple sources, showing both mediating and moderating effects on the relationship between R&D team diversity and creativity.

Conflict and creativity in inter-organizational teams

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Hu ◽  
Zhi Chen ◽  
Jibao Gu ◽  
Shenglan Huang ◽  
Hefu Liu
Keyword(s):  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Relationship Conflict ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Team Creativity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Organizational Teams ◽  
Study Offer

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effects of task and relationship conflicts on team creativity, and the moderating role of shared leadership in inter-organizational teams. An inter-organizational team normally comprises employees from collaborated organizations brought together to conduct an initiative, such as product development. Practitioners and researchers have witnessed the prevalence of conflict in inter-organizational teams. Despite significant scholarly investigation into the importance of conflict in creativity, a deep theoretical understanding of conflict framework remains elusive. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted in China to collect data. Consequently, 54 teams, which comprised 54 team managers and 276 team members, were deemed useful for the study. Findings By testing our hypotheses on 54 inter-organizational teams, we found that relationship conflict has a negative relationship with team creativity, whereas task conflict has an inverted U-shaped (curvilinear) relationship with team creativity. Furthermore, when shared leadership is stronger, the negative relationship with team creativity is weaker for relationship conflict, whereas the inverted U-shaped relationship with team creativity is stronger for task conflict. Research limitations/implications The main limitation is cross-sectional, which cannot establish causality in relationships. Despite this potential weakness, the present research provides insights into conflict, leadership and inter-organizational collaboration literature. Practical implications The findings of this study offer some guidance on how managers can intervene in the conflict situations of inter-organizational teams. Social implications Managers are struggling to identify ways to effectively manage team conflict when a team of diverse individuals across organizational boundaries are brought together to solve a problem. The findings of this study offer some guidance on how managers can intervene in the conflict situations of inter-organizational teams. Originality/value This paper provides understandings about how relationship and task conflicts affect team creativity in inter-organizational teams.

Corporate governance and performance of medium-sized firms in Nigeria: does sustainability initiative matter?

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-427
Author(s):  
Babatunji Samuel Adedeji ◽  
Tze San Ong ◽  
Md Uzir Hossain Uzir ◽  
Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The non-existence of the corporate governance (CG) concept for practices by non-financial medium-sized firms (MSFs) in Nigeria informed. This study aims to determine whether CG practices influence firms’ performance and whether sustainability initiative (SI) mediates the relationship between CG and MSFs’ performance in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach A total of 300 firms were selected on convenience sampling basis from South Western Nigeria using a structured questionnaire. The authors used Statistical Package for Social Sciences for exploratory data analysis and hypotheses were tested using covariance-based structural equation modelling. Findings The results show that CG has a significant positive effect on performance [financial performance (FNP) and non-financial performance (NFP)] and SI. SI has a mixed impact on performance, e.g. a significant positive impact on NFP but insignificant negative impact on FNP. Similarly, SI has a combined mediating effect in the relationship between CG and performance, e.g. fully mediates CG → NFP and does not mediate CG → FNP. Firms are to invest in social and environmental initiatives substantially. CG codes will complement the International Financial Reporting Standards for MSFs. Research limitations/implications This study supports the assumptions of theories (institutional, stakeholder and agency) as the basis for the usage of multiple approaches to determine the outcome of hypotheses, especially in developing climes. Practical implications The study contributes to CG and performance literature by examining the mediating effects of SI. The paper also shows the necessity to emphasise NFP aspect. Policymakers should evolve CG codes to encourage stakeholders to believe more in the corporate existence of MSFs for strengthening capital-base and quality personnel engagement. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical attempts showing the evidence on the relationship between CG and NFP in Nigeria.

Optimizing environmental expenditures for maximizing economic performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 2544-2561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitish Singh ◽  
Jieqiong Ma ◽  
Jie Yang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Resource Based View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Stewardship ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose Corporate environmental expenditure has been a growing concern in recent years, yet mixed findings exist regarding its economic impact. The purpose of this paper is to explain the mixed relationship between environmental expenditure and economic performance from the natural-resource-based view. Design/methodology/approach Using Global Reporting Initiative survey data from 120 firms in 30 countries, this study uses PROCESS, a path-based analysis software, to test the moderation and mediation hypotheses in an integrated analytical model. Findings The findings show that environmental expenditure has a negative impact on economic performance through pollution prevention capability. In contrast, environmental expenditure has a positive impact on economic performance through product stewardship capability. Both effects are significantly strengthened when the firm is located in an environmentally munificent country. Practical implications This study intends to inform firm managers, especially those in environmentally munificent countries, to relocate their environmental expenditure to enhance firms’ economic performance. In particular, firms should focus more on the reduction of input, such as raw materials, energy, and water, instead of output, including emissions, effluents, and wastes. Originality/value The contrasting indirect effects of pollution prevention and product stewardship offer a viable explanation for the mixed findings in the existent literature on environmental expenditure from a new perspective.

Differential leadership, team conflict and new product development performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 544-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianming Zhou ◽  
Shuo Liu ◽  
Xinsheng Zhang ◽  
Ming Chen
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
New Product ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Relationship Conflict ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Conflict ◽  
Team Task ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of native Chinese R&D team directors’ differential leadership on team performance, so as to understand whether and how the directors’ differential leadership impacts team conflict, whether and how team conflict impacts new product development performance of the R&D team and whether team conflict plays full mediation on the relationship between directors’ differential leadership and new product development performance. Design/methodology/approach A literature review on differential leadership and team conflict provided the model and hypothesis. Two-wave data collected from 103 directors and 344 subordinates from 103 R&D teams of high-tech enterprises from China’s Pearl River Delta Area were used as empirical study samples. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the model and hypothesis. Findings First, the team director’s differential leadership would cause significant team relationship conflict and team task conflict in the R&D team. Second, team relationship conflict and team task conflict would produce significantly bad new product development performance in the R&D team. Third, team relationship conflict would significantly mediate the relationship between the team director’s differential leadership and the team’s new product development performance. Research limitations/implications To yield broader conclusions and to show to that the results can be replicated in other areas or in other types of organizations, further empirical research should expand the sampling by choosing high-tech enterprises from Beijing and Shanghai that have strong innovative abilities. Moreover, to extend the differential leadership theory, few more related variables of consequences, such as team communication, team cooperation and team knowledge share, should be included in future studies. Practical implications In general, the native Chinese R&D department director needs to try their best to avoid the use of differential leadership style. In addition, reasonable incentive measures, promotion mechanisms and fair team work culture are needed so as to reduce the negative impact from the director’s differential leadership. Originality/value The paper is original in its investigation on how Chinese indigenous organizational factor – differential leadership – influences the R&D team’s conflict and new product development performance, and provides theoretical contribution and managerial implications for the R&D team management.

Is it about task conflict or relationship conflict?

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-343
Author(s):  
Jianxun Chen ◽  
Songbo liu ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Xueqiang Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Transactional Leadership ◽  
Leadership Behavior ◽  
Task Conflict ◽  
Relationship Conflict ◽  
Exploratory Learning ◽  
Learning Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ceo Leadership ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Based on the team conflict theory and organizational learning theory, this study aims to discuss the two different types of conflicts of the top management team (TMT) on the different mechanisms of exploratory learning behavior of firms, and, based on the perspective of CEO-TMT (CEO – chief executive officer) interface, the different moderating effects caused by different CEO leadership styles are clarified. Design/methodology/approach Using the sample of 193 firms’ samples with multi-source data, the authors take an empirical test of the theoretical framework. Findings The effect of task conflict on exploratory learning behavior was insignificant, and relationship conflict had a positive effect on exploratory learning behavior. However, when CEO’s transformational leadership level was high, or transactional leadership level was low, there existed “bathtub curve” relationship between task conflict and exploratory learning behavior, and the relationship conflict under these conditions strengthened exploratory learning behavior. When CEO’s transactional leadership level was high, or transformational leadership level was low, there existed the inverted U-shaped relationship between task conflict and exploratory learning behavior, and the relationship conflict under such conditions weakened exploratory learning behavior. Originality/value First, the authors challenge the assumption of linear mechanism of task conflict, trying to build the mechanism of curve hypothesis, and the nonlinear explanation might be able to integrate the inconsistent results in the existing literature. Second, according to the inconsistent results of relationship conflict in existing literature, this study takes perspective of the CEO-TMT and introduces CEO leadership behavior as a moderating variable to test the moderating effect of CEO leadership and clarifies the boundary conditions of TMT conflicts.

The effects of social responsibility and hypocrisy on the relationship among psychological contract violation, trust and perceived betrayal

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-261
Author(s):  
Chen Hai-Ming ◽  
Lan Li-Chi ◽  
Chiu Tao-Sheng ◽  
Fang Chen-Ling
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Psychological Contract ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Psychological Contract Violation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Contract Violation

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact of corporate social responsibility and hypocrisy on the relationship among psychological contract violation, trust and perceived betrayal. Design/methodology/approach This study used purposive sampling and selected students in Taiwan as the research participants. The theory of psychological contract violation and consumer awareness process in violation hypocrisy on psychological contract violation were used to investigate the effect of its impact on trust and perceived betrayal. Then, the moderating effect of social responsibility and hypocritical on trust, and the mediating effect of trust between psychological contract violation and perceived betrayal were analyzed. Findings The results indicated that hypocrisy had a significant and negative impact on psychological contract violation toward trust; hypocrisy had a significantly positive impact on psychological contract violation toward perceived betrayal; trust had a significantly negative impact on perceived betrayal; perceived betrayal had a significantly positive impact on both direct and indirect revenges; trust had a mediating effect between hypocrisy toward psychological contract violation and perceived betrayal; and higher hypocrisy would produce a stronger effect through trust on the relationships between hypocrisy toward psychological contract violation and perceived betrayal. Originality/value Perception of consumers would differ whenever there were failures of service recovery occurred; especially, stronger betrayal feeling would be perceived with the companies who emphasized social responsibility and did not carry out what they should do. Research results could be references for companies whom advertising and praising social responsibility.

Impact of work values and knowledge sharing on creative performance

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hualiang Ren ◽  
Qinglei Zhang ◽  
Ying Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Work Values ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Creative Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Hypothesis Model ◽  
Significant Negative Impact ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find the influence of employees’ work values on their creative performance and test the role of knowledge sharing among them. Design/methodology/approach This work surveyed 387 employees in six companies across three cities to test the research hypothesis model. Findings The findings reveal that comfort and security (comfort) work values have a significant negative impact on the creative performance, whereas competence and growth (competence) work values and status and independence (status) work values have a significant positive impact on creative performance. Knowledge sharing plays a mediating role between work values and creative performance. Originality/value This study reveals the influence mechanism of work values on creative performance from a new perspective and confirms the differing effects of different types of work values on creative performance.

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