It is not what we have, but how we use it: Reexploring the relationship between task conflict and team innovation from the resource-based view

Over several decades, studies of the relationship between task conflict and team innovation have yielded mixed findings. In the present study, drawing on the resource-based view (RBV), we consider that task conflict can activate a dynamic pool of knowledge resources and argue that the impact of task conflict on team innovation is dependent upon the knowledge integration capacity of a team, which is defined as a team’s ability to effectively combine, capitalize, and utilize the resource pool. A study of 59 teams revealed that, in general, task conflict and team innovation exhibit an inverted U-shape relationship, which was moderated by knowledge integration capability. The implications of our findings with respect to conflict research and conflict management are discussed.