Understanding Antecedents of Interpersonal Conflict in Information Systems

Interpersonal conflict in information systems development (ISD) projects is common and has been identified as being detrimental to project outcomes. Prior research has primarily focused on assessing the impact of interpersonal conflict on ISD project outcomes. As such, little is known about the antecedents to conflict in ISD contexts. It is proposed here that understanding the conditions that lead to the manifestation and escalation of conflict in ISD contexts is essential to improving ISD project outcomes. The goal of this study is to address the gap in the literature related to the understanding of antecedents of interpersonal conflict in ISD contexts. Specifically in this study, we integrate existing interpersonal conflict theory with current ISD theory to develop a theoretical foundation for an exploratory case study aimed at identifying antecedents of interpersonal conflict in ISD contexts. This study makes a contribution by: (1) extending the existing ISD literature to include the antecedents of interpersonal conflict in ISD contexts, (2) identifying moderating factors that can mitigate conflict in ISD contexts, and (3) offering a model for identifying both the antecedents and potential mitigation of interpersonal conflict in ISD contexts.