To Agree or Not To Agree: The Effects of Value Congruence, Individual Demographic Dissimilarity and Conflict on Workgroup Outcomes

assistance. We would also like to thank Thomas Armentrout for his involvement in the project, Cindy Young for her data entry and analysis efforts, and Kelly Gable for her assistance in manuscript preparation. In this quasi-experimental study, we investigate value congruence and demographic dissimilarity among group members as factors which influence various types of conflict within workgroups. We also examine whether it is beneficial for members to be different or alike, to agree or disagree, in order to foster work group productivity. Results indicate that visible individual demographic differences (i.e., sex, age) increase relationship conflict, while informational demographic differences (i.e., education) increase task-focused conflict. Value congruence of members decreased both relationship and task conflict, and the specific content of the values held by members influenced performance. Specifically, both detail and outcome group value orientations increased objective performance; outcome, decisiveness, and stability orientations increased perceptions of high performance; and, both decisiveness and supportiveness orientations increased the satisfaction level of group members while a team orientation decreased individual member satisfaction in this sample. There has been a debate in organizational research regarding whether or not agreement or disagreement within groups is advantageous. have recently found that while relationship conflicts based on personality clashes and interpersonal dislike are detrimental to group functioning, task conflicts based on disagreements regarding the specific task content are beneficial in many situations. Another prominent, though less researched, controversy surrounds the concept of group member diversity and whether or not this diversity is a help or a hindrance to group outcomes In this paper, we investigate value congruence and demographic dissimilarity among group members as factors which influence various types of conflict within workgroups. More specifically, we examine which sets of values are likely to demonstrate the greatest functional and dysfunctional effects in groups, and how the visibility of individual demographic and informational background characteristics affect conflict and performance within the group. In general, we examine the individual characteristic inputs and the outcomes of workgroups to determine whether or not it is beneficial for members to be different or alike, and whether or not they should agree or disagree in order to foster work group productivity. Value Congruence and Intragroup Conflict Values are individuals' fundamental beliefs regarding the desirability of behavioral choices (Enz, 1988; Rokeach, 1973). They reflect, for example, preferred ways to perform individual and group tasks such as being innovative, detail oriented, or relationship-focused. In this study, …