The Effect of Trust on Conflict and Performance in Groups Split by Demographic Faultlines

In this paper, we examine the mediating role of relationship, task, and process conflict in the much debated relationship between intra-group trust and group performance. We test these relationships with two different studies, including one longitudinal study of student workgroups. We propose and find that high levels of intragroup trust are negatively related to both potentially performance enhancing group processes (e.g., task conflict) and performance detracting group processes (e.g., process conflict) across two studies, providing a new explanation for the past contradictory effects of intra-group trust on performance. We also introduce the concept of diversity faultlines as a potential moderator in the relationship between trust and the intragroup conflict types, in order to better understand how group context may influence the relationship between trust and conflict. We propose and find across both studies that when faultlines are strong, trust is less likely to reduce potentially beneficial work-related debates and is more likely to reduce potentially harmful process conflicts.