ABSTRACT
Task success in modern organizations often requires that multiple teams work in concert. Multiple teams often bring with them additional resources that allow them to outperform individual teams. However, multiple-team situations may also lead to conflict. Examples of conflict in multiple-team situations may include coordination difficulties, role conflicts, competition, and antagonism between teams. Conflict in teams involves perceived differences between parties about things that matter to them (e.g., beliefs and resources) (De Dreu & Gelfand, 2008). From this perspective, conflict can be seen as potentially arising within and between teams in multiple-team situations. We begin this chapter by describing “Multiple Teams Working in Concert,” which encompasses both multiteam systems and teams-of-teams. We then describe the inherent potential for conflict when multiple teams work in concert, identify sources of conflict, and discuss potential remedies for reducing this conflict.
