When performing a task or seeking to achieve a performance goal, group members cannot control the functions, information, or resources needed independently. Hence, they must rely on others to fulfill their performance goals and work tasks. Task interdependence refers to the degree to which team members identify with, and intend to help, one another both through their actions, and through providing resources (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). In a team operation, task interdependence is an important factor that indirectly influences job performance via team cooperation and team conflict.

Corporate business is strongly related to individual job performance. When an individual is under pressure in regard to his or her job performance, team members tend to engage in competition and conflict, which can destroy internal team operations. As a result, the team does not function well, leading to inferior corporate performance (Wang, Yen, & Huang, 2011). In a traditional performance management system, there is an evaluation system to measure the quality of individual job performance. Thus, in this study, we focused on how the job performance of real estate brokers is influenced by team members’ cooperation and conflict.

In addition, a work environment in which trust is lacking harms both the team and its individual members (Bradley, Postlethwaite, Klotz, Hamdani, & Brown, 2012). Trust refers to the intention to actively undertake a risk in the context of a personal relationship (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995). Mayer et al. described how trust will not only lessen conflict, but also enhance cohesion, cooperative behavior, production and growth, and job performance of team members. Thus, trust is an important factor in the operation of a team. In this study, we therefore, investigated the moderating effect of trust in the relationship between team conflict and job performance.

Although the focus of real estate brokers’ work patterns is on individual performance, it has been found (Lee, in press) that team cooperation and trust are also key to successful completion of transactions and have a greater impact than individual performance does on team operation and job performance. To this end, we examined the correlation of task interdependence, team conflict, and team cooperation with team interaction.

In this study, we treated task interdependence as an exogenous variable and trust as a moderator. We sought to provide information to stimulate positive interaction and eliminate negative conflict, effectively increasing cooperation and trust among team members, improving individual job performance, and facilitating the establishment of an effective team management mechanism.

Hypotheses Development

Task Interdependence

Wageman (1995) suggested that there is a positive correlation between task interdependence and team cooperation. Similarly, Wang et al. (2011) investigated the impact of journalists’ team interaction and task interdependence on their individual performance and found that when task interdependence is established, team performance will be affected if one person fails to finish a task. According to Wang et al. task interdependence could arouse a sense of responsibility among journalists, improving individual performance and resulting in cooperation. Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Task interdependence will have a positive impact on team cooperation.

Wageman and Baker (1997) found that task interdependence will increase task conflict because under the conditions of competition and task interdependence, team members will obtain others’ resources and even hinder others’ success, and this will result in task conflict. Further, Wageman and Baker suggested that, in order to accomplish their work, group members must share data, information, and professional knowledge, and when they do, task interdependence will increase and relationship conflict will reduce. Therefore, we proposed the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 2: Task interdependence will have a positive impact on task conflict.
Hypothesis 3: Task interdependence will have a negative impact on relationship conflict.

Van der Vegt and Van de Vliert (2002) stated that previous researchers have consistently concluded that task interdependence has a positive impact on job performance. For example, Kirkman, Mathieu, Cordery, Rosen, and Kukenberger (2011) investigated team organization using data from 32 organizational communities of practice in a U.S.-based mining and minerals processing firm, and found that task interdependence was positively correlated with job performance. Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 4: Task interdependence will have a positive impact on job performance.

Team Conflict

Team conflict comprises task conflict and relationship conflict among team members. According to Jehn and Mannix (2001), before a task conflict forms, cooperation and integration through communication or the enhancement of group benefits will strengthen team cooperation. Relationship conflict has a negative impact on helping behavior of team members and is, thus, negatively correlated with team cooperation (De Dreu & Van Vianen, 2001). Desivilya, Somech, and Lidgoster (2010) found that relationship conflict was negatively correlated with cooperation opportunities, and that task conflict was positively correlated with cooperation. Therefore, we proposed the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 5: Task conflict will have a positive impact on team cooperation.
Hypothesis 6: Relationship conflict will have a negative impact on team cooperation.

Bradley et al. (2012) found that task conflict was positively correlated with team performance; that is, task conflict played an important role in improving team performance by increasing team creativity and rigorous decision making. On the other hand, it has been found that relationship conflict negatively influences job performance, productivity, and job satisfaction (Wall & Nolan, 1986). Therefore, we proposed the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 7: Task conflict will have a positive impact on job performance.
Hypothesis 8: Relationship conflict will have a negative impact on job performance.

Team Cooperation

In their study of the impact of team interdependence and interaction on journalists’ individual performance, Wang et al. (2011) suggested that team cooperation can promote effort among team members and further improve individual performance. Their results showed that team cooperation had a positive impact on the journalists’ job performance. Thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 9: Team cooperation will have a positive impact on job performance.

Moderating Effect of Trust on the Relationship Between Team Conflict and Job Performance

Jehn and Mannix (2001) demonstrated that when team members have a higher degree of trust or cohesion, they will avoid task conflict and relationship conflict. Bradley et al. (2012) suggested that greater perceived psychological safety can enhance the moderating effect of task conflict on team performance. In addition, Lau and Cobb (2010) suggested that coordination among team members, based on trust, can result in better team relationships and can weaken the moderating effect of relationship conflict on team performance. Therefore, we proposed the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 10: When trust is greater, the positive effect of task conflict on job performance will be reinforced.
Hypothesis 11: When trust is greater, the negative effect of relationship conflict on job performance will be reduced.

Method

Participants and Procedure

We recruited real estate brokers in Kaohsiung as participants. The survey was conducted from July 1 to August 31, 2013 (see also Lee et al., 2014). Of the 568 survey forms that we distributed, 367 were retrieved. After five invalid forms had been eliminated, there were 362 valid survey forms (rate of return = 98.6%).

Of the respondents, 58.3% were men and 41.7% were women, aged 25 or younger (15.5%), between 26 and 30 years (21.0%), 31 and 35 years (19.9%), 36 and 40 years (13.8%), 41 and 45 years (14.4%), 46 and 50 years (6.6%), and 51 and older (8.8%). The majority of participants (53.1%) were married, with 43.3% unmarried and 3.5% identifying otherwise. Most participants were university graduates (43.3%), 2.3% had their master’s degree, and the rest had a highest level of education of senior high school or vocational school (27.2%) or college (27.2%).

Measures

The survey was divided into two parts. The first part concerned basic demographic information, and the second part contained six latent variables. The items in the survey (available from the authors upon request) were scored using a 5-point Likert scale, with values ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

We measured task interdependence with four items, based on those developed by Jarvenpaa and Staples (2001). The measurement of relationship conflict and task conflict consisted of six items, based on those developed by Jehn and Mannix (2001). There were four items on team cooperation, based on those developed by Chatman and Flynn (2001). Trust was measured with four items, based on those developed by McAllister (1995). We measured job performance with six items, based on those developed by Campbell (1990).

Results and Discussion

Regarding the overall theoretical model fit analysis, the absolute fit indicator χ² = 604.081 (p < .001), reached the significance level of p < .01, and the normal χ² (3.752) was within the acceptable range. In addition, goodness-of-fit index = .863, adjusted goodness-of-fit index = .821, normed fit index = .871, comparative fit index = .902, incremental fit index = .902, root mean square residual = .099, and standardized root mean square error of approximation = .087 were mostly acceptable standard values. Overall, the theoretical model fit was acceptable. The results are shown in Figure 1. Except for Hypotheses 2, 5, 8, and 11, the hypotheses were supported.

According to McShane and Von Glinow (2010), when task interdependence is at a higher level, team cooperation will be more significant than when team members are working independently. Our results in this study suggested that a greater intensity of task interdependence will enhance team cooperation and the degree of task interdependence will affect task conflict and relationship conflict. Further, a greater intensity of task interdependence will lessen relationship conflict.

When the intensity of task interdependence is higher, job performance will improve. Task interdependence not only increased work motivation, but also enhanced work efficiency and job performance. Our findings support those of Wageman and Baker (1997) who found that with greater team interdependence, team knowledge sharing will be more effective. According to Jehn (1995), relationship conflict in a team increases members’ negative emotions, such as anxiety, anger, fear, frustration, and stress. As a result, there is less cooperation among team members. Our results in this study suggested that greater relationship conflict results in a reduction in team cooperation.

In addition, our results showed that greater task conflict enhanced the job performance of our participants. These results are in line with those of Eisenhardt and Schoonhoven (1990), who demonstrated that when there was conflict within task-oriented management teams, members could enhance their job performance by studying different views and creating more options for problem solving.

As real estate brokers finalize deals through cooperation, the enhancement of team cooperation will also enhance their job performance. According to Cohen, Ledford, and Spreitzer (1996), team members can predict other members’ reactions and reduce uncertainty by behavioral regulation of cooperation. This will not only increase job performance, but also reduce anxiety. Our results support the findings of Cohen et al.

Homan, Knippenberg, Kleef, and De Dreu (2007) reported that trust had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between task conflict and job performance. When real estate brokers have a high degree of trust in each other, task conflict will enhance their job performance. Our results demonstrated that the effects of task conflict on job performance are positively and significantly moderated by trust, which, conversely, does not significantly moderate the effect of relationship conflict on job performance.

Our findings in this study have practical implications for real estate brokers, who should pay attention to task interdependence. For instance, group members’ interdependence can be reinforced to lead to compatible and harmonious interpersonal relationships, in which negative emotions are avoided, and team cooperation is increased and job performance is enhanced. In addition, the real estate industry can seek to strengthen trust relationships of team members, because trust enhances the positive effects of task conflict on job performance. When group members trust one other, they are willing to give and accept apologies, undertake the risk of giving and receiving feedback, and admit to any shortcomings. When the advantages of team work are fulfilled among team members and they trust each other, task conflict will not become relationship conflict, which reduces the quality of job performance. For instance, when several team members develop and sell properties, they can help and trust one other in this process by exchanging opinions and sharing experiences, by cooperating when showing houses to customers, and by sharing benefits after a transaction is completed.

A limitation in this study is that, as the respondents were real estate brokers working for a chain, self-employed brokers were not included. Thus, our results may not explain the job performance of this group. In this study, we treated trust as a moderator of the relationship between team conflict and job performance. Future researchers can include important variables other than those we examined in this study, as well as different moderators, to explore the effects of those moderators on job performance.

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Chun-chang Lee, Department of Real Estate Management, National Pingtung University, No. 51 Mingsheng East Road, Pingtung, Taiwan, ROC. Email: [email protected]