Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, Vol 29(2), Jun 2025, 98-116; doi:10.1037/gdn0000236
Objective: Previous research has suggested that interteam conflict can enhance intra-team cohesion and promotes intra-team cooperation. However, drawing on the conflict spillover theory, interteam conflict within the organization may spill over into the team, triggering intra-team struggles and subsequently harming intra-team performance. This study explores the cross-level mediating mechanism by which interteam conflict affects intra-team performance via intra-team status struggles and examines the boundary effect of interteam status dispersion. Method: We conducted a two-wave and multisource survey in China. At Wave 1, we collected interteam level data from middle and senior executives. One month later, we collected intra-team data from team leaders. Ultimately, we obtained matched responses of 265 teams from 40 companies. Due to the nested structure of the data, we utilized Mplus 8.3 to construct multilevel linear models to test the hypotheses. Results: When interteam status dispersion is high, the indirect negative effect of interteam conflict on intra-team performance through intra-team status struggles is strengthened; on the contrary, when interteam status dispersion is low, the indirect negative impact of interteam conflict on intra-team performance through intra-team status struggles is not significant. Conclusions: Interteam status dispersion plays a crucial role in mitigating the negative spillover effects of interteam conflict into the intra-team dynamics. Organizations could reduce the negative consequences of interteam conflict through rational interteam status hierarchy design. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)