Identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. We integrate insights from the social identity complexity and dual identification literature to explore the influence of workplace identification on cross-functional conflicts at work. We propose that patterns of identification acro...

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Main Authors: Horton, K., Griffin, Mark
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68961
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author Horton, K.
Griffin, Mark
author_facet Horton, K.
Griffin, Mark
author_sort Horton, K.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. We integrate insights from the social identity complexity and dual identification literature to explore the influence of workplace identification on cross-functional conflicts at work. We propose that patterns of identification across multiple identity targets will affect the development of cross-functional conflicts within an organization. We test our hypotheses in a two-wave study of 156 military personnel over a period of 4 months, finding support for our propositions. Specifically, we find that less complex patterns of identification (defined as dominant identification with a single workplace identity) are associated with higher increases in process, task and relationship conflict during cross-functional working, compared to complex patterns of identification (identification with two or three targets) and weak identification. These findings have important implications for cross-functional working, and also provide new insights into the role of identification complexity in shaping workplace outcomes.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-689612018-06-29T12:35:25Z Identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries Horton, K. Griffin, Mark © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. We integrate insights from the social identity complexity and dual identification literature to explore the influence of workplace identification on cross-functional conflicts at work. We propose that patterns of identification across multiple identity targets will affect the development of cross-functional conflicts within an organization. We test our hypotheses in a two-wave study of 156 military personnel over a period of 4 months, finding support for our propositions. Specifically, we find that less complex patterns of identification (defined as dominant identification with a single workplace identity) are associated with higher increases in process, task and relationship conflict during cross-functional working, compared to complex patterns of identification (identification with two or three targets) and weak identification. These findings have important implications for cross-functional working, and also provide new insights into the role of identification complexity in shaping workplace outcomes. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68961 10.1080/1359432X.2016.1259215 restricted
spellingShingle Horton, K.
Griffin, Mark
Identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries
title Identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries
title_full Identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries
title_fullStr Identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries
title_full_unstemmed Identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries
title_short Identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries
title_sort identification complexity and conflict: how multiple identifications affect conflict across functional boundaries
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/68961