The current study attempted to elucidate the mechanisms
whereby constructive-cooperative conflict management
(integrating) fosters innovation in work teams. The pro-
posed conceptual model postulated that the positive func-
tion of integrating in precipitating innovation is
motivated by prosocial team atmosphere as manifested in
team identity, the team’s capacity to mitigate the adverse
impact of relationship conflict and its capability to maxi-
mize the potential gains of task conflict. Specifically, it
was hypothesized: (a) integrating would predict innova-
tion. (b) Team identity would be positively related to
integrating, and that integrating would mediate the posi-
tive relationship between team identity and team innova-
tion. (c) Task conflict would be positively related to
integrating whereas relationship conflict would be nega-
tively related to integrating. This research embraced a
team-level perspective and analysis. Seventy-seven intact
work teams from high-technology companies participated
in the study. The findings, by and large, supported the
proposed conceptual model, especially the contention that
teams’ proclivities with respect to conflict management
play a pivotal role in their capacity to function in an
innovative manner. A team’s integrating pattern meaning-
fully predicted team innovation. The mediating effect of
the integrating strategy on the relationship between team identity and team innovation was also demonstrated.
Finally, relationship conflict was negatively associated
with a team’s integrating pattern, while the positive asso-
ciation of task conflict wit