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Group Membership Salience and the Movement of Conflict

Reconceptualizing The Interaction Among Race, Gender, And Hierarchy

Morgan State University

Kenwyn K. Smith

University of Pennsylvania

Conflict in and among groups often erupts in surprising and unexpected ways. Building upon extant theory regarding the movement of conflict, the authors posit that conflict gets enacted in distinct ways when individuals and groups are heterogeneous. The relative impermeability of identity group boundaries fundamentally changes the patterns of interaction required to achieve a state of balance in three-party interactions. The authors present two cases that explore the movement and transformation of conflict among employees in a large financial institution. The intricate dynamics suggest that organization and identity group memberships spawn layers of interaction that generate, escalate, resolve, and/or conceal conflict among organizational participants.

Key Words: intergroup • group dynamics • conflict • race • gender

Group & Organization Management, Vol. 28, No. 1, 18-44 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1059601102250014


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