Perception of team conflict and goal commitment over time: a multilevel analysis in sports teams

Objective Despite evidence showing how team conflict affects performance, the factors influencing conflict remain largely unclear. One possible factor influencing team conflict is how goals are handled. When dealing with team goals, team goal commitment is an important variable. Team goal commitment describes how connected team members feel to the team’s goal and how determined they are to achieve it. The objective of this study was to examine whether team goal commitment predicts team conflict in sports teams. Method: Soccer teams were surveyed using a two-wave design. The sample comprised 356 players (123 female, 232 male, one not specified; M a ge = 25.14, SD age = 5.03) from 25 teams. Team goal commitment (both personal commitment and perceived commitment of other team members) was measured with the goal commitment scale adapted to team goals. Team conflicts were measured using the intragroup conflict scale for sport. Analyses were performed in R using Bayesian multivariate multilevel regression and response surface methodology. Results Initial perceptions of conflict positively predicted levels of conflict 2 months later. Before the initial level of conflict was included in the analysis, a negative relation appeared to be found between perceived team goal commitment of the other team members and process conflict 2 months later. However, this association disappeared once the baseline conflict level has been controlled for. Relationship and process conflict were less prevalent in women’s teams than in men’s teams. Conclusion Perceived high levels of conflict in teams should be addressed early on, as there is a high chance that they will remain otherwise. Future studies should examine the interaction between team goal commitment and process conflict more closely.