Good and bad simultaneously? Leaders using dialectical thinking foster positive conflict and employee performance

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to introduce a new cognitive style, dialectical thinking, to demonstrate how it can influence a leader’s impact on team conflict and employee performance. Specifically, this study intends to answer the research questions “whether and how leader’s dialectical thinking would influence employee performance” with conflict management perspective in the Chinese context.

Design/methodology/approach

Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to test the theoretical model with 222 employees in 43 teams from Chinese high-tech manufacturing firms.

Findings

The authors found that the leader’s dialectical thinking had positive relationships with employee creativity and in-role performance and that the relationships were mediated by the leader’s conflict management approach and team conflict in sequence.

Practical implications

Selecting, recruiting or promoting of leaders with a dialectical thinking style or providing training to enhance leaders’ dialectical thinking is important for facilitating team conflict management and employee performance.

Originality/value

This is the first empirical paper to introduce dialectical thinking into the leadership, conflict and employee performance literatures.

Citation

Bai, Y., Harms, P., Han, G.(H). and Cheng, W. (2015), "Good and bad simultaneously? Leaders using dialectical thinking foster positive conflict and employee performance", International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 245-267. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-09-2014-0070