ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between task and affective conflict in distributed teams. It suggests the relationship between task conflict and affective conflict is a critical link if distributed teams are to effectively manage conflict. The chapter offers the following hypotheses: Geographic distribution will moderate the relationship between task conflict and affective conflict, such that the task conflict–affective conflict link will be stronger in geographically distributed teams. While technology has allowed organizations to capitalize on benefits of comprising more diverse and geographically disperse teams, geographical dispersion also presents formidable challenges to the team's functioning. Team tenure has been shown to be an important determinant of team process. The chapter discusses the measured geographic dispersion using self-report information from the team leader which identified the distribution of the team members' office locations. It identifies co-located teams as those teams where the team leader indicated the majority of the team's members were located in the same building.
