Can interpersonal competition be constructive within organizations?

Full Abstract

An empirical analysis was conducted on the conditions under which competition can be constructive. The participants were 64 managers and 28 employees from organizations in mainland China. They were asked to describe specific incidents of competition between them and their fellow employees and rate on a 7-point Likert-type scale the conditions that they perceived affected the outcomes. The incidents could involve either a physical activity or an intellectual task or both. Results showed that the variables related to constructive competition included the fairness of the rules, the motivation to win, having an advantage that enhanced one's chances of winning, a strong positive relationship among competitors, and a history of confirming each other's competence. By controlling these factors, the constructiveness of competition may be enhanced.

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Author information

Author/s: Tjosvold, Dean (D); Johnson, David W (DW); Johnson, Roger T (RT); Sun, Haifa (H);

Affiliation: Department of Management, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The Journal of psychology (J Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Jan; vol 137 (issue 1) : pp 63-84

Dates: Created 2003/03/28; Completed 2003/06/17; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12661705, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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