Conflict, leadership, and market orientation

While conflict is generally viewed as something to avoid, some conflicts benefit organizations. Against this backdrop, this article explores how a particular type of leadership (i.e., transformational) affects (a) the two dimensions of interfunctional conflict (i.e., task and relational), (b) market orientation and performance, and (c) the task/relational conflict–market orientation and performance relationships that allow for nonlinear effects. Data collected from CEOs and marketing managers show that the relationship among task/relational conflict, transformational leadership, market orientation, and performance is more complex than previously thought. The authors discuss the relevance of nonlinear effects in the context of how firms might improve their market orientation and performance.