Conflict, individual satisfaction with team, and training motivation

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the mediating effect of an individual’s satisfaction with the team between conflict and training motivation. This study provides understanding regarding how the type of conflict within a team can influence an individual’s team experience which can, in turn, influence that individual’s training motivation and impact future teams. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 498 upper-level business students engaged in a team project. Structural equation modeling examined the serial mediation relationship between perceived diversity, conflict (affective and cognitive), individual satisfaction with the team and training motivation (learning and transfer). Findings Individual satisfaction with the team partially mediates the relationship between affective conflict and both training motivation dimensions, and fully mediates the relationship between cognitive conflict and both training motivation dimensions. Practical implications To encourage future participation in teams, managers should explore ways to increase an individual’s satisfaction, such as increasing the cognitive conflict by incorporating diversity within teams and reducing the affective conflict within teams. Likewise, by increasing an individual’s satisfaction with the team, managers can increase both the motivation to learn and transfer new knowledge. Originality/value This paper illuminates the role that an individual’s satisfaction with the team has between conflict and training motivation. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that more research on an individual’s satisfaction with the team is needed.