An integrative review of intergroup conflict: influencing variables, consequences, and classification of psychological barriers to resolving intergroup conflict

The emergence of non-constructive conflict at the intergroup level can cause huge and irreparable problems and damages for organizations. The need for cooperation and communication between groups in today's fast-paced and changing world is undeniable. The main purpose of this research is to Reviewing and identifying the latest scientific researches conducted in the field of intergroup conflict. After extensive and detailed review of researches and books, From ۲۰۱۵ to ۲۰۲۲, according to the very small amount of research done, five researches related to intergroup conflict in organizations were selected. The scientific achievements of these researches are very new, remarkable and important. Current study is a review article that helps to spread new knowledge in the field of organizational behavior. The very low number of researches in this field and the need to be familiar with new scientific findings have been one of the reasons for conducting this research. Researches results show that the increase of intergroup conflict reduces the MTS (Multi-Team System) performance. Also, group (team) identification, organizational identification, MTS identification, honor culture, social rewards, perceived discrimination, parochial cooperation and parochial competition are among the factors that affect intergroup conflict. In addition, twenty-six psychological barriers to intergroup conflict resolution have been categorized and identified. These barriers were scattered and very diverse in the past. These barriers, which are extracted from the theoretical literature, fuel the escalation of intergroup conflict and prevent the proper resolving intergroup conflict. Managers and leaders of organizations can make an important contribution to strengthening favorable relations between groups and improving continuous and stable cooperation between them, considering the factors affecting intergroup conflict and also the consequences of intergroup conflict.

Keywords:

Intergroup Conflict , Prosociality , Multi-Team System (MTS) , Honor Culture , Perceived Discrimination , Psychological Barriers.