How conflict shapes innovation
Investigating resistance to change, task conflict and relationship conflict
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21620257 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nasib Dar (0000-0001-7699-3713, Institut d'Economie Scientifique Et de Gestion, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 497-526 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-05 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Conflict Management (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1044-4068 • E-ISSN: 1758-8545 |
| Publisher | Emerald (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1108/ijcma-04-2025-0107 |
| OpenAlex | W4416600254 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 116 |
Purpose Change serves as a crucial driving force for innovation and growth, but it can also result in conflict within the workplace. This study aims to investigate how resistance to change instigates conflict; specifically, it investigates task conflict and relationship conflict, and their effects on innovative work behavior. In addition, it highlights the significance of the organizational voice climate within these dynamics. Design/methodology/approach The SPSS PROCESS macro is used to analyze a three-wave survey of 221 employees from Pakistan’s information technology and banking sectors. Findings The findings show that resistance to change is positively correlated with both task conflict and relationship conflict. While task conflict promotes innovative work behavior, relationship conflict hinders it. Furthermore, the organizational voice climate enhances the positive relationship between task conflict and innovative work behavior while diminishing the negative impact of relationship conflict on innovative work behavior. Originality/value This study provides unique insights into the complex role of workplace conflict in fostering innovation. It underlines the critical influence of contextual elements, such as organizational voice climate, on the effective management of workplace conflict dynamics
Conflict management · Organizational conflict · Role conflict · Conflict Management and Negotiation · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Work-Family Balance Challenges
Conceptualizing and Measuring Organizational and Psychological Climate
Aggregation bias in estimates of perceptual agreement.
Innovative Behavior in the Workplace
Team-level predictors of innovation at work
Assessing the Work Environment for Creativity.
Change Recipients’ Reactions to Organizational Change
Determinants of Innovative Behavior
Culture and Organizations
Psychological Safety
Change Readiness
When Job Dissatisfaction Leads to Creativity
The paradox of intragroup conflict
Employee Voice Behavior
Leadership, creativity and innovation
Resistance to Change
When Voice Matters
Speaking Up to Higher-Ups
Common Method Bias in Regression Models With Linear, Quadratic, and Interaction Effects
Personality, context, and resistance to organizational change
Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction
Conservation of resource caravans and engaged settings
Common method biases in behavioral research
Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1
Getting to the “COR”
Is relationship conflict totally detrimental to team creativity
Whether and when team task conflict and relationship conflict transform over time
Unraveling the link between innovative work behavior and despotic leadership
Investigating the mechanism linking task conflict with employees’ innovative work behavior
The effects of conflict type and conflict expression intensity on conflict management
Social strife at work
Employee Voice and Innovative Behavior in the Public Sector
When and How Does Team Task Conflict Spark Team Innovation? A Contingency Perspective
A Multimethod Examination of the Benefits and Detriments of Intragroup Conflict
A Qualitative Analysis of Conflict Types and Dimensions in Organizational Groups
Constructively Managing Conflicts in Organizations
Conservation of Resources in the Organizational Context
Navigating workplace conflicts and fostering innovative behaviors
Transformation of Task Conflict Into Relational Conflict and Burnout
A Contingency Model of Top Management Teams’ Task Conflict and Organizational-Level Outcomes
Managing relationship conflict and the effectiveness of organizational teams
International differences in employee silence motives
Employee voice behavior
Rethinking the role of team mindfulness in team relationship conflict
Innovation is not enough
The conflict‐positive organization
Conflict style differences between individualists and collectivists
Conservation of resources
Social and Psychological Resources and Adaptation
| Highly cited | No |
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