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Reducing Relationship Conflict in Virtual Teams With Diversity Faultlines: The Effect of an Online Affect Management Intervention on the Rate of Growth of Team Resilience

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of an online affect management intervention on relationship conflict through the rate of growth of team resilience in virtual teams with diversity faultlines. Fifty-two 4-person teams participated in a randomized controlled trial design with repeated measures (i.e., three measurement occasions). Teams were randomly assigned to either an intervention designed to help them manage emotions in virtual teams or a control condition. Our findings showed that affect management can reduce the level of relationship conflict in virtual teams with diversity faultlines and that this effect can be explained by the pattern of change in team resilience in response to the intervention. This study contributes to past research on identifying ways to prevent or mitigate team conflicts arising from diversity faultlines.

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Reducing Relationship Conflict in Virtual Teams With Diversity Faultlines: The Effect of an Online Affect Management Intervention on the Rate of Growth of Team Resilience

Author: Peñarroja Cabañero, Vicente; González Anta, Baltasar; Orengo Castellá, Virginia; Zornoza Abad, Ana; Gamero Vázquez, Nuria
Publisher: Sage
Year: 2022
DOI: 10.1177/0894439320907575
Source: https://idus.us.es/bitstreams/921be746-a1e4-4ddf-8aa5-bbf33e31164c/download
Depósi o de in es igación de la Uni e sidad de Se illa
h ps://idus.us.es/
This is an Accep ed Manusc ip o an a icle published by Sage in Social Science Compu e
Re iew, a ailable a : h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/08944393209075
Reducing ela ionship con lic in i ual eams wi h di e si y aul lines: The e ec
o an online a ec managemen in e en ion on he a e o g ow h o eam
esilience
Au ho s:
Vicen e Peña oja 1 (co esponding au ho )
Bal asa González-An a 2
Vi ginia O engo 2
Ana Zo noza 2
Nu ia Game o 3
A ilia ions:
1 Facul y o Economics and Business, Uni e si a Obe a de Ca alunya (UOC), Ba celona,
Spain. Add ess: A . del Tibidabo, 39-43, 08035 Ba celona, Spain
2 IDOCAL, Uni e si y o Valencia, Valencia, Spain
3 Depa men o Social Psychology, Uni e si y o Se ille, Se ille, Spain
2
Abs ac
The aim o he p esen s udy was o analyze he e ec o an online a ec managemen
in e en ion on ela ionship con lic h ough he a e o g ow h o eam esilience in
i ual eams wi h di e si y aul lines. Fi y- wo ou -pe son eams pa icipa ed in a
andomized con olled ial design wi h epea ed measu es (i.e., h ee measu emen
occasions). Teams we e andomly assigned ei he o an in e en ion designed o help
hem manage emo ions in i ual eams o o a con ol condi ion. Ou indings showed
ha a ec managemen can educe he le el o ela ionship con lic in i ual eams
wi h di e si y aul lines, and ha his e ec can be explained by he pa e n o change in
eam esilience in esponse o he in e en ion. This s udy con ibu es o pas esea ch
on iden i ying ways o p e en o mi iga e eam con lic s a ising om di e si y
aul lines.
Keywo ds: a ec managemen in e en ion, eam aul lines, eam esilience,
ela ionship con lic , i ual eams
3
The apid de elopmen o in o ma ion and communica ion echnologies (ICT)
and he globaliza ion p ocess ha e led o a g owing p e alence o i ual eams in
oday’s o ganiza ions (Gibson, Huang, Ki kman, & Shapi o, 2014). Vi ual eams a e
g oups o geog aphically dispe sed people who wo k in e dependen ly owa d common
goals, using echnology o communica e and collabo a e ac oss ime and space
(DeSanc is & Monge, 1999). These eams ha e he abili y o b ing oge he a a ie y o
knowledge and expe ience om indi iduals who a e geog aphically dis an (Ba a seh,
Ushe , & Daspi , 2017), which con ibu es o making oday’s o ganiza ions mo e
di e se.
A e i y yea s o esea ch, di e si y has been shown o ha e po en ial bene i s
o c ea i i y, inno a ion, and pe o mance in eams and o ganiza ions (see an
Knippenbe g & Mell, 2016; o a e iew). Fo ins ance, di e si y can bene i
pe o mance by p e en ing p ema u e consensus while s imula ing he elabo a ion o
ask- ele an in o ma ion ( an Knippenbe g & Schippe s, 2007). Howe e , inconsis en
indings in di e si y esea ch ha e led schola s o pay a en ion o eam aul lines
(Tha che & Pa el, 2011). Team aul lines a e de ined as hypo he ical lines di iding he
eam in o ela i ely homogeneous subg oups based on he alignmen o mul iple
indi idual a ibu es (e.g., age, sex, e c.) (Lau & Mu nighan, 1998). Because eam
aul lines make social ca ego ies salien (Meye & Sche muly, 2012), he esul ing
p ocesses o in e -subg oup bias a e likely o ha e ha m ul e ec s in i ual eams, such
as an inc ease in ela ionship con lic (e.g., O’Lea y & Mo ensen, 2010; Polze , C isp,
Ja enpaa, & Kim, 2006).
De ined as he awa eness o in e pe sonal incompa ibili ies ega ding pe sonal
issues (e.g., di e ences in pe sonal ai s, language, cul u al p ac ices) ha a e no ask-
ela ed and p oduce eelings o ension and ic ion among eam membe s (Jehn &
4
Mannix, 2001), ela ionship con lic is ha m ul o g oup iabili y and pe o mance (de
Wi , G ee , & Jehn, 2012). In his con ex , a ec managemen can be use ul in educing
ela ionship con lic because i may limi subg oup o ma ion and in e g oup bias by
e ec i ely add essing po en ially nega i e a ec i e esponses o eam aul lines
(Homan, 2019). Howe e , al hough esea ch is paying mo e a en ion o in es iga ing
how o p e en o mi iga e con lic s in eams ha ha e di e si y aul lines ( an de
Kamp, Tjemkes, & Jehn, 2015), he ole played by a ec managemen in his con ex
has been neglec ed.
The e o e, o ex end his s eam o esea ch, he p esen s udy explo es how an
online a ec managemen in e en ion can educe ela ionship con lic in i ual eams
a ec ed by eam aul lines. Online aining was employed because his aining deli e y
mode can be as e ec i e as adi ional class oom sessions (Si zmann, K aige , S ewa ,
& Wishe , 2006) while cu ing cos s and c ea ing con en ha can be deli e ed any ime,
anywhe e, and on demand (DeRouin, F i zsche, & Salas, 2004). Mo eo e , online
aining is widesp ead in an en i onmen cha ac e ized by dis ibu ed wo k and
in ensi e echnology use (K aige , 2014). We also s udy he media ing ole o eam
esilience in his ela ionship. Mo e conc e ely, we examined he ajec o y o g ow h o
eam esilience in esponse o he in e en ion, and how he a e o g ow h o eam
esilience media es he e ec o he in e en ion on he le el o ela ionship con lic .
The e ec o an online a ec managemen in e en ion on ela ionship con lic in
i ual eams wi h di e si y aul lines
Following Ma ks, Ma hieu, and Zacca o (2001), a ec managemen can be
de ined as a p ocess h ough which a eam e ec i ely manages membe s’ a ec du ing

5
ask accomplishmen . A ec managemen in ol es emo ion egula ion echniques such
as calming membe s down, boos ing eam mo ale and cohesi eness among membe s,
and p o iding empa hy, wi h implica ions o eam e ec i eness. I can imp o e eam
pe o mance by inducing, displaying, and sus aining a posi i e g oup clima e (Meng,
Fulk, & Yuan, 2015), whe eas i can keep un egula ed nega i e emo ions om esul ing
in low membe sa is ac ion, educed g oup cohesion, and educed eam commi men
(Jehn, 1997).
An in e en ion o enhance a eam’s capaci y o e ec i ely manage nega i e
a ec i e eac ions o eam aul lines can help o diminish ela ionship con lic (Homan,
2019). Simila o he p ocess o de-ca ego iza ion, an a ec managemen in e en ion
educes he salience o in-g oup and ou -g oup ca ego y dis inc ions by p o iding
pe sonalized in e ac ions be ween membe s o he subg oups (Gae ne , Do idio, &
Houle e, 2010). Mo e speci ically, eam membe s a e p esen ed wi h a si ua ion whe e
hey ha e o deal wi h o he s’ a ec i e eac ions, which may lead membe s o he in-
subg oup o in e ac wi h ou -subg oup membe s as indi iduals a he han as membe s
o he ou -g oup. In his si ua ion, i is mo e di icul o igno e he indi idual
cha ac e is ics o membe s o he o he subg oup, making depe sonaliza ion and
e alua ion based on social ca ego ies less likely and, consequen ly, educing
ela ionship con lic (Homan, an Knippenbe g, an Klee , & De D eu, 2007a).
In he p esen s udy, we designed an in e en ion o deli e communica ion
s a egies ha acili a e a ec managemen in w i en compu e -media ed
communica ion, which was he communica ion medium used by ou i ual eams. In
such online se ings, s a egies o manage he iming o messaging can be used o a oid
delays in esponses (e.g., a eam membe says ha s/he will ake ime o answe a
ques ion), which c ea e us a ion (Pan eli & Fineman, 2005) and a ec he imp ession
6
o med by he ecipien (e.g., an un esponsi e pa ne is pe cei ed as less c edible)
(Kalman & Ra aeli, 2011). Emo icons can be employed o s eng hen he posi i e
emo ional con en o e bal messages in online w i en communica ion while so ening
he nega i e con en (De ks, Bos, & on G umbkow, 2008). They a e also use ul o
so ening speech ac s ha can be in e p e ed as au ho i a i e by he ecei e , such as
eques s, co ec ions, ejec ions, and complain s, while s eng hening exp essions such
as g ee ings, hanks, complimen s, and posi i e app aisals (Sko hol , G ønning, &
Kankaan an a, 2014).
Mo eo e , i ual eams need a posi i e g oup clima e in o de o educe con lic
and inc ease coope a ion and pe cei ed pe o mance (Ba sade, 2002). This posi i e
clima e can lead o adop ing lexible and adap i e s a egies when acing ad e si ies,
hus p omo ing be e eam pe o mance in di icul si ua ions (Meneghel, Salano a, &
Ma ínez, 2016). The e a e communica ion s a egies ha can help o c ea e a posi i e
g oup clima e du ing g oup in e ac ions, such as chee ing on he eam by making
encou aging commen s abou i s o e all p og ess and pe o mance o making
suppo i e commen s abou o he eam membe s’ ideas and opinions (Rhee, 2007). A
posi i e g oup clima e can also be suppo ed by p o iding new esponses o he s imulus
e alua ions esul ing om eapp aisal s a egies (El enbein, 2007).
In sum, ou online in e en ion is designed o acili a e he use o socio-
emo ional cues and p omo e a posi i e g oup clima e in online w i en communica ion.
In he nex sec ion, we u he explain ou p oposal, a guing ha he e ec o ou online
in e en ion on ela ionship con lic is media ed by he a e o g ow h o eam esilience.
7
The media ing ole o he a e o g ow h o eam esilience in he ela ionship
be ween an online a ec managemen in e en ion and ela ionship con lic
Vi ual eams ha e se e al ad an ages such as lowe cos , no a el expenses,
au oma ic cap u e o he discussion da a, and connec ing people ega dless o hei
loca ion (Unde hill & Olms ed, 2003). Howe e , hey also ace addi ional sou ces o
s ess ha a e inhe en o he cha ac e is ics o dis ibu ed wo k, such as echnical
p oblems, spa ial dis ance, empo al dis ance, and cul u al di e si y (Nu mi, 2011;
Schneide , Ke win, F ech ling, & Vi a i, 2002). In hese ci cums ances, esilience is a
ele an psychological quali y ha allows people o wi hs and he s ess ha a ises om
challenges and ad e si y and bounce back s eng hened and mo e esou ce ul (S ephens,
Heaphy, Ca meli, Sp ei ze , & Du on, 2013; Su cli e & Vogus, 2003). Al hough
esilience has adi ionally been de ined a he indi idual le el, i is also applied o
eams and o ganiza ions (Bowe s, K eu ze , Cannon-Bowe s, & Lamb, 2017). Based on
Ma ks e al.’s (2001) concep o an eme gen s a e, some schola s (e.g., Bowe s e al.,
2017; Guccia di e al., 2018) ha e ecen ly s a ed o iew i as an eme gen eam
phenomenon wi h a dynamic and mul ile el na u e. Acco ding o Guccia di e al.
(2018), eam esilience eme ges because o he accumula ion o collec i e expe iences
in dealing wi h ad e se e en s. In he p esen s udy, we use his concep ion o de ine
eam esilience as an eme gen s a e ha en ails sha ed belie s abou he eam’s abili y o
posi i ely ace challenges and di icul ies while eaching he eam’s goals.
One o he ac o s ha ma e s in eam esilience is he quali y o he
ela ionships (Meneghel e al., 2016). A s udy by S ephens e al. (2013) showed ha
eam esilience is enhanced when indi iduals ha e he eeling ha hey can exp ess hei
ue emo ions and manage hem in a cons uc i e manne in he eam. When eam
membe s can exp ess ( a he han supp essing) how hey eel when aced wi h a
8
challenge, hey a e able o collec i ely comp ehend di icul si ua ions and e ec i ely
espond o hem (Ca meli, F iedman, & Tishle , 2013). Fu he mo e, eeling posi i e
emo ions is pa icula ly impo an o eam esilience (Meneghel e al., 2016).
Acco dingly, we p opose ha ou online a ec managemen in e en ion can enhance
eam esilience because i allows eam membe s o exp ess hei emo ions, add ess hem
cons uc i ely, and build a posi i e g oup clima e. All o his may help o de elop a sa e
space in which o gene a e a b oad a ay o esponses o challenging si ua ions, hus
inc easing eam esilience (S ephens e al., 2013).
Resea ch in es iga ing he capaci y o eam esilience o os e he eam’s abili y
o wea he po en ial nega i e e ec s o eam aul lines (i.e., inc eased le els o
ela ionship con lic ) is s ill lacking. Howe e , in an inc easingly di e se wo kplace, he
o ma ion o subg oups due o eam aul lines can be a equen sou ce o ad e si y o
challenge ha eams ha e o deal wi h, as in he case o high le els o ela ionship
con lic in agmen ed eams (e.g., Polze e al., 2006). Thus, he de elopmen o eam
esilience is impo an in o de o ace speci ic challenges o wo king in a eam, such as
ela ionship con lic and eam aul lines (S ephens, e al., 2013), while achie ing be e
eam pe o mance (Meneghel e al., 2016).
Teams ha a e able o ebound om se backs and challenges a e mo e likely o
be help ul owa d o he eamma es and main ain open lines o communica ion, a he
han wi hd awing om hei eam and ocusing inwa d (Bowe s e al., 2017; Wes ,
Pa e a, & Ca s en, 2009). Acco dingly, eam esilience is likely o con ibu e o
educing he le el o ela ional con lic p oduced by he di ision o he eam in o
subg oups by making he eam able o wi hs and po en ially damaging e ec s o
h ea ening si ua ions. Howe e , p e ious esea ch has no ound a signi ican
ela ionship be ween eam esilience and in a-g oup con lic (Wes e al., 2009). In
15
use o emo icons, in ensi ica ion o so ening o emo ions), and he con en o he
second session e e ed o managing and egula ing he a ec i e wo k clima e in i ual
eams (i.e., s a egies ha can u n a ound any si ua ion, o e ing ewa ds o e o s,
acknowledging he con ibu ions o o he s, suppo and mo i a ion o achie e he eam
goal). Bo h sessions included indi idual and collec i e exe cises ha allowed he
pa icipan s o pu he con en in o p ac ice. Du ing he indi idual exe cises, he
pa icipan s acqui ed he con en p o ided and p ac iced i h ough a se ies o exe cises
indi idually. In he collec i e exe cises, he eam wo ked online and p ac iced oge he ,
ying o each an ag eemen abou how o include he knowledge du ing he ollowing
wo k sessions. In bo h sessions, he indi idual exe cises had o be pe o med on he
wo k pla o m o ensu e ha no g oup membe could s a he collec i e exe cises i he
es o he eam membe s had no p e iously comple ed hem indi idually.
All he g oups pa icipa ed in he same sessions, ega dless o he expe imen al
condi ion, bu in a di e en o de . Thus, pa icipan s in he expe imen al condi ion
comple ed he ollowing wo k plan: p e-in e en ion ( ime 1); a ec in e en ion 1,
a ec in e en ion 2; pos - in e en ion ( ime 2); and pos -in e en ion ( ime 3).
Pa icipan s in he con ol condi ion ecei ed a ec managemen aining in he end wi h
he goal ha all he s uden s would ecei e he same aining con en s: p e-in e en ion
( ime 1); pos -in e en ion ( ime 2); pos -in e en ion ( ime 3); a ec managemen
in e en ion 1; and a ec managemen in e en ion 2.
Measu es
Team esilience. This a iable was measu ed by h ee i ems aken om S ephens
e al. (2013). An example o an i em is: “This eam knows how o cope wi h

16
challenges”. The i ems we e measu ed on a six-poin Like scale om “I s ongly
disag ee” (1) o “I s ongly ag ee” (6). The C onbach’s alphas o his scale we e .95,
.95, and .94 o ime 1, ime 2, and ime 3, espec i ely. Mo eo e , he eam sco e was
ob ained by agg ega ing indi idual esponses o he ques ionnai e a he eam le el.
Following a e e en -shi consensus model (Chan, 1998), i is impo an o demons a e
wi hin-g oup ag eemen o jus i y agg ega ion. The WG (J) index was used o assess
wi hin-g oup ag eemen (James, Dema ee, & Wol , 1984). The mean o WG (J) was 0.80
(SD = 0.26) o ime 1, 0.85 (SD = 0.24) o ime 2, and 0.83 (SD = 0.27) o ime 3.
These alues a e abo e he cu -o c i e ion o .70 (LeB e on & Sen e , 2008). We also
calcula ed he In aclass Co ela ion Coe icien o ICC (1). This coe icien can be
in e p e ed as he p opo ion o o al a iance ha can be explained by g oup
membe ship o as an index o in e a e eliabili y (Bliese, 2000). ICC (1) was .07 o
ime 1, .11 o ime 2, and .06 o ime 3. Acco ding o Bliese, hese alues a e wi hin
he ange o ypical alues ound in applied esea ch, anging om .05 o .20.
Rela ionship con lic . I was measu ed by h ee i ems aken om Jehn and
Mannix (2001). An example o an i em is: “How much ela ionship ension is he e in
you wo k g oup?” The i ems we e measu ed on a i e-poin Like scale anging om 1
= “no a all” o 5 = “a lo .” The C onbach’s alphas o his scale we e .84, .86, and .89
o ime 1, ime 2, and ime 3, espec i ely. Mo eo e , esul s o da a agg ega ion
analysis o ela ionship con lic we e: The mean o he WG (J) was 0.90 (SD = 0.18),
0.86 (SD = 0.22), and 0.83 (SD = 0.28) o ime 1, ime 2, and ime 3, espec i ely. All
hese alues we e abo e .70. Mo eo e , ICC (1) was .18, .15, and .14 o ime 1, ime 2,
and ime 3, espec i ely.
17
S a is ical plan
ANCOVA models we e calcula ed o es hypo hesis 1 wi h SPSS, and la en
g ow h cu e models we e calcula ed o es hypo heses 2, 3, and 4 wi h Mplus 7.4
(Mu hén & Mu hén, 1998–2015). The la en g ow h cu e model allows us o analyze
in e - eam a iabili y o change in eam esilience o e ime and examine he
an eceden s and consequences o change (P eache , Wichman, MacCallum, & B iggs,
2008). In ou s udy, we examined ou a ec managemen online in e en ion as he
an eceden o change in eam esilience, whe eas ela ionship con lic was he
consequence o change. To do so, we i s es ima ed wo la en ac o s: he ini ial mean
and he linea change ac o . The ini ial le el (in e cep ) is a cons an o any gi en eam
ac oss ime, whe eas he linea change ac o (slope) desc ibes eam di e ences in he
cons an a e o mean-le el change ac oss he h ee measu emen poin s. Linea g ow h
is ob ained by ixing he g ow h ac o loadings a 0.0, 1.0, and 2.0.
The pa ame e s o he model we e es ima ed wi h maximum likelihood. We
ollowed a sequence o inc easingly complex nes ed models in which ixed e ec s we e
successi ely eed o a y in o de o de e mine whe he signi ican sou ces o be ween-
eam a iance exis ed o he in e cep and g ow h ac o pa ame e s (Bliese & Ployha ,
2002). Thus, we compa ed a baseline model, in which he in e cep was ixed ac oss all
eams and he g ow h ac o was ixed o ze o, and a model in which he in e cep was
eed o a y ac oss eams. Subsequen ly, a model in which he g ow h ac o was eed
o a y ac oss all eams (model 1) was compa ed wi h models ha allowed only
be ween- eam a ia ion in he in e cep s. Nes ed models we e compa ed using he chi-
squa e di e ence es . Addi ionally, goodness-o - i o he models was es ed ollowing
he cu -o c i e ia o a compa a i e i index (CFI) and a Tucke -Lewis Index (TLI)
18
g ea e han 0.95 (Hu & Ben le , 1999) and a oo mean squa ed e o o app oxima ion
(RMSEA) o 0.08 o less (B owne & Cudeck, 1993).
Finally, we examined he e ec o he online in e en ion on he a e o g ow h
o eam esilience (model 2) and he e ec o he a e o g ow h o eam esilience on
he le el o ela ionship con lic (model 3).
Resul s
P elimina y analysis
Table 1 p o ides he means, s anda d de ia ions, and Pea son co ela ions o
he agg ega ed sco es o he a iables measu ed in ou s udy. We also calcula ed pa ial
co ela ions by con olling o condi ion o check ha he co ela ions among he
dependen a iables we e no caused by he manipula ion. To do so, we c ea ed a
dummy a iable in which eams in he in e en ion condi ion we e assigned sco es o
one, and he eams in he con ol condi ion we e assigned sco es o ze o. As Table 1
shows, mean alues indica e ha eam esilience inc eased o e he h ee measu emen
poin s in he in e en ion condi ion, whe eas i emained mo e o less s able in he
con ol condi ion. Pea son co ela ions show a posi i e co ela ion be ween
measu emen s o eam esilience a ime 2 and ime 3. Fu he mo e, hese measu emen s
o eam esilience co ela ed nega i ely wi h ela ionship con lic .
--PLEASE, INSERT TABLE 1 ABOUT HERE--
Manipula ion check
19
We checked he manipula ion o a ec managemen wi h eigh i ems. An
example o an i em is “In my eam, we ha e used emojis o sha e ou emo ions”. The
esponse scale anged om 1 (“No a all”) o 4 (“Ve y much”). The C onbach’s alphas
we e .81, .87, and .89 o ime 1, ime 2, and ime 3, espec i ely. Al hough we
measu ed his manipula ion check a he indi idual le el, we agg ega ed membe s’
answe s o he eam le el because indi iduals wo ked in eams, and so hei answe s
we e p obably no independen (Bliese, 2000). Agg ega ion o da a o he eam le el
was jus i ied, conside ing ha we ob ained he ollowing esul s: The mean o he WG (J)
was 0.85 (SD = 0.11), 0.84 (SD = 0.12), 0.82 (SD = 0.16) o ime 1, ime 2, and ime 3,
espec i ely; ICC (1) was .22, .37, and .38 o ime 1, ime 2, and ime 3, espec i ely.
Resul s showed ha his manipula ion had he desi ed e ec . Pa icipan s in he
in e en ion condi ion indica ed ha hey used a ec managemen s a egies wi h hei
espec i e eamma es mo e o en han in he con ol condi ion in ime 2 (in e en ion: M
= 2.84; SD = 0.47; con ol condi ion: M = 2.55; SD = 0.43; (50) = 2.33; p < .01) and
ime 3 (in e en ion: M = 3.03; SD = 0.49; con ol condi ion: M = 2.57; SD = 0.40; (50)
= 3.73; p < .001). In ime 1 (p e-in e en ion session), he e we e no signi ican
di e ences be ween condi ions (in e en ion: M = 2.45; SD = 0.55; con ol condi ion: M
= 2.59; SD = 0.56; (50) = -1.40; ns).
Hypo hesis es ing
The ANCOVA esul s showed ha he le el o ela ionship con lic was lowe in
he in e en ion condi ion han in he con ol condi ion in he pos -in e en ion session
( ime 2) (F (1, 49) = 11.61; p < .01) and in he ollow-up session ( ime 3) (F (1, 49) = 8.01;
20
p < .01), a e con olling o he p e-in e en ion session ( ime 1). The Mean and
s anda d de ia ion o each condi ion and session a e shown in Table 1.
Table 2 shows he esul s o he la en g ow h cu e analysis. A posi i e slope in
model 1 indica es a linea a e o posi i e change in eam esilience o e he h ee
expe imen al sessions (𝛼𝛼2
�= 0.11). Model 2 shows ha he in e en ion has a posi i e
e ec on he a e o g ow h o eam esilience (𝛾𝛾�21 = 0.16; p < .05), so ha eams ha
ecei ed he online a ec managemen in e en ion had a as e a e o posi i e change
han eams in he con ol condi ion. We also ound ha he a e o g ow h o eam
esilience had a nega i e in luence on ela ionship con lic (b = -1.11; p < .05) (see
model 3 in Table 2), so ha a as e inc ease in eam esilience yielded lowe le els o
ela ionship con lic a he end o he expe imen al s udy. Finally, o es he media ion
e ec o he online in e en ion on ela ionship con lic h ough he slope ac o o eam
esilience, we used boo s apping. Resul s showed ha he a e o posi i e change in
eam esilience media ed he e ec o he online a ec managemen in e en ion on
ela ionship con lic (es ima e o indi ec e ec = -0.18; 95% con idence in e al = -
0.50 o -0.01). Mo eo e , his media ion was ull because he e ec o he online a ec
managemen in e en ion on ela ionship con lic was nonsigni ican a e con olling
o he a e o g ow h o eam esilience (es ima e o di ec e ec = -0.13; ns).
--PLEASE, INSERT TABLE 2 ABOUT HERE--
Discussion
The aim o his s udy was o analyze he e ec o an online a ec managemen
in e en ion on ela ionship con lic h ough he a e o g ow h o eam esilience in

21
i ual eams. Suppo ing hypo hesis 1, ou da a showed ha ou online in e en ion
helped i ual eams o educe ela ionship con lic unde aul line condi ions. Thus, his
esul sugges s ha i is impo an o ain pa icipan s in a ec managemen . In ou
s udy, his aining speci ically in ol ed con en abou how o iden i y, exp ess, and
egula e emo ions in i ual eams (i.e., pa alanguage, ime managemen , use o
emo icons, in ensi ying o so ening emo ions). We also included communica ion
s a egies (i.e., s a egies ha can u n a ound any si ua ion, o e ing ewa ds o e o s,
acknowledging he con ibu ions o o he s, suppo and mo i a ion o achie e he eam
goal) o c ea e a posi i e g oup clima e du ing he g oup in e ac ion.
Conside ing ha ou online a ec managemen in e en ion can be concei ed as
a de-ca ego iza ion s a egy, we con ibu e o p e ious esea ch examining whe he
p omo ing pe sonalized in e ac ions be ween subg oup membe s educes he nega i e
consequences o subg oup o ma ion (e.g., Chiu & S aples, 2013; Homan e al., 2007a;
Gae ne e al., 2010; Rico e al., 2012). This esul is also consis en wi h esea ch
sugges ing ha w i en compu e -media ed communica ion is no impe sonal (Glikson
& E ez, 2013; Wal he & D’Adda io, 2001). Ins ead, i ual eams ha use his
communica ion medium can bene i om an online in e en ion o app op ia ely
manage a ailable cues in w i en compu e -media ed communica ion o con ey socio-
emo ional in o ma ion o ela ional communica ion (De ks e al., 2008; Kalman &
Ra aeli, 2011; Pan eli & Fineman, 2005; Sko hol e al., 2014).
In addi ion, ou online in e en ion inc eased he a e o posi i e change in eam
esilience o e he h ee expe imen al sessions, which empi ically suppo s hypo hesis
2. Coinciding wi h S ephens e al. (2013), ou esul s indica e ha when indi iduals can
exp ess hei emo ions because o he s a e esponsi e o hem, eam esilience is
de eloped. Thus, he inc ease in he g ow h a e o eam esilience in esponse o he
22
online in e en ion shows ha when eam membe s exp ess hei emo ions and manage
hem in a cons uc i e manne , hey become mo e capable o collec i ely dealing wi h
challenging si ua ions (Ca meli e al., 2013; S ephens e al., 2013).
We also ound empi ical suppo o hypo hesis 3 because he a e o g ow h o
eam esilience o e he h ee expe imen al sessions educed he le els o ela ionship
con lic in agmen ed i ual eams. The main con ibu ion his esul makes o
p e ious esea ch (e.g., Meneghel e al., 2016; S ephens e al., 2013) consis s o
showing ha eam esilience also makes he eam mo e capable o dealing wi h in e nal
sou ces o ad e si y o challenge, such as he o ma ion o subg oups. This esul
sugges s ha esilien eams a e mo e likely o be help ul o o he eamma es and
main ain open lines o communica ion, a he han wi hd awing om hei eam and
ocusing inwa d (Wes e al., 2009). Fu he mo e, he signi ican esul o he in luence
o he a e o g ow h o eam esilience on ela ionship con lic shows he impo ance o
s udying eme gen s a es om a empo al pe spec i e (Bowe s e al., 2017; Guccia di e
al., 2018). Fo ins ance, his app oach allowed us o ind a signi ican ela ionship
be ween he a e o g ow h o eam esilience and ela ionship con lic . This was no he
case o Wes e al. (2009), whose indings did no empi ically suppo he ela ionship
be ween eam esilience and in a-g oup con lic . Al hough mo e esea ch is equi ed on
his ma e , one plausible explana ion is ha examining he ajec o ies o change in
eam esilience e eals i s dynamic na u e. The e o e, he p esen s udy con ibu es o
pas esea ch by examining he ela ionship be ween eam esilience and ela ionship
con lic om a longi udinal app oach.
Rega ding he ou h hypo hesis, ou esul s showed ha he a e o posi i e
change in eam esilience media ed he e ec o he online a ec managemen
in e en ion on ela ionship con lic . Thus, hypo hesis 4 was suppo ed by he da a. This
23
esul indica es ha ou online in e en ion helped i ual eams o de elop s a egies o
iden i y and manage a ec i e esponses in he eam, he eby os e ing he g ow h o
eam esilience. Subsequen ly, as e g ow h o eam esilience led o less ela ionship
con lic .
In sum, we con ibu e o p e ious esea ch by sugges ing ha , in agmen ed
i ual eams, a ec managemen is impo an o amelio a e he le el o ela ionship
con lic associa ed wi h he p esence o subg oups (Polze e al., 2006), and ha an
online in e en ion designed o imp o e a ec managemen based on key indings abou
online w i en communica ion is e ec i e o his pu pose (De ks e al., 2008; Kalman
& Ra aeli, 2011; Pan eli & Fineman, 2005; Sko hol e al., 2014). We also showed ha
he ope a ionaliza ion o eam esilience as an eme gen s a e allowed us o con i m i s
dynamic na u e (Bowe s e al., 2017; Guccia di e al., 2018). Unlike p e ious s udies
ha ha e ocused on he le el o eam esilience (Wes e al., 2009), we examined he
g ow h o eam esilience. Finally, we con ibu e o calls o mo e esea ch on well-
being in i ual eams (Gilson, Mayna d, Young, Va iainen, & Hakonen, 2015) om a
posi i e pe spec i e and using a collec i e app oach. Acco ding o posi i e psychology
(Seligman & Csikszen mihalyi, 2000), well-being is no jus he lack o dys unc ion
(i.e., s ess), bu also he p esence o posi i e s a es (i.e., eam esilience).
Limi a ions and u u e esea ch
This s udy p esen s some limi a ions and implica ions o u u e esea ch. Fi s ,
ou esul s ha e some limi a ions in e ms o ex e nal alidi y and gene alizabili y o
o ganiza ional se ings because hey we e ob ained wi h a sample o s uden s. Al hough
he e is ample ag eemen abou he capaci y o expe imen al s udies o add ess applied
24
p oblems in his ield (Do idio & Gae ne , 2010), u u e s udies should a emp o
eplica e ou indings in eal o ganiza ional con ex s. Second, we did no analyze he
ans e o an a ec managemen online in e en ion o job pe o mance. Because his
ans e ence is impo an in p omo ing o ganiza ional change (K aige , 2003), u u e
s udies should examine whe he an online a ec managemen in e en ion is e ec i e in
imp o ing o ganiza ional esul s. Thi d, we s udied newly o med i ual eams.
Al hough ou esul s p o ide a be e unde s anding o how an online a ec
managemen in e en ion in luences he a e o g ow h o eam esilience and
ela ionship con lic in i ual p ojec eams, i is also necessa y o s udy i s
e ec i eness in long- e m i ual eams. Fou h, we only used one speci ic elec onic
communica ion medium (e.g., elec onic ex -based cha ), al hough i ual eams in
o ganiza ions can use di e en ypes o communica ion echnologies o coope a e,
which can in luence he da a ichness p oduced as a esul o he medium i sel
(Ab ams, Wang, Song, & Galindo-Gonzalez, 2015). Thus, ou esul s should be es ed
in eams communica ing h ough di e en communica ion media. Fi h, because eam
aul lines we e a cons an in ou s udy, we should be ca e ul no o conclude ha ou
indings a e due o eam aul lines. Ins ead, gi en ha he e ec o eam aul lines on
ela ionship con lic has p e iously been shown (O’Lea y & Mo ensen, 2010; Polze e
al., 2006), ou design allowed us o es he e ec s o an online a ec managemen
in e en ion on ela ionship con lic in aul line condi ions. E en hough we based ou
wo k on p e ious s udies ha examined how o minimize o o e come he de imen al
e ec s o eam aul lines unde cons an condi ions o aul line s eng h (e.g., Homan e
al., 2007b; Rico e al., 2012), u u e esea ch should inco po a e di e en aul line
condi ions (i.e., s ong s weak aul lines) o assess whe he an online a ec
managemen in e en ion can minimize o o e come he e ec o aul line s eng h on
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Figu e cap ions
Figu e 1. Resea ch model.
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