Role conflict and role ambiguity as psychological climate variables

Abstract

The psychological climate approach to work environment perceptions was used as a basis to make predictions concerning the correlates of perceived role conflict and ambiguity. It was predicted that role conflict and role ambiguity would be related significantly to situational variables, person variables, person by situation interactions, and individual outcome variables. Type of work environment and compliance were predicted to moderate selected relationships between the situational variables and the role perceptions. Compliance was also regarded as a moderator for relationships between role perceptions and individual outcome variables. Questionnaire data collected from nonsupervisory employees of a low-level technology organization (n = 205) and a high-level technology organization (n = 126) provided at least partial support for the hypotheses. The results suggested that perceptions of role conflict and role ambiguity involved correlates which have been generally ignored in past research (e.g., person variables). Practical implications of the results are also discussed.