The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of two per-ceived organizational indicants-psychological climate and percep-tions of the management control system-on the often-studied rela-tionships of role conflict and ambiguity with job satisfaction and intentions to change jobs. Based on a cross-sectional survey of 423 marketing professionals, it was determined that these two perceived organizationalfactors predominantly accountedfor the shared varia-bility inherent in the relationships considered and in certain instances resulted in a change in the direction of the correlation. In particular, the relationships of role conflict and ambiguity with pay and promo-tion satisfaction and with turnover intentions were the most heavily af-fected ones. The relationships of role ambiguity with overall satisfac-tion and with work itself were also affected. Falsification analyses revealed that the findings hold across various sample segments and that role perceptions and job attitudes are directly tied to perceptions about the broader organization. The implications and research direc-tions of these results for the study of role stress correlates are consid-ered.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Engle-wood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
2.
Anderson, T.W (1958). An introduction to multivariate statistical analysis. New York: Wiley.
3.
Campbell, J.P., Dunnette, M., Lawler, E.E., III., & Weick, K.E., Jr. (1970). Managerial behav-ior, performance, and effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill.
4.
Cooley, WW, & Lohnes, P.R. (1971). Multivariate data analysis. New York: Wiley.
5.
Cooper, W H. (1981). Ubiquitous halo. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 218-244.
6.
Dougherty, T.W, & Pritchard, R.D. (1985). The measurement of role variables: Exploratory ex-amination of a new approach. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35, 141-155.
7.
Fisher, C.D., & Gitelson, R. (1983). A meta-analysis of the correlates of role conflict and ambi-guity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 320-333.
8.
Futrell, C.M., & Parasuraman, A. (1984). The relationship of satisfaction and performance to sales force turnover. Journal of Marketing, 48, 33-40.
9.
Futrell, C.M., Swan, J.E., & Todd, J.T. (1976). Job performance related to management control systems for pharmaceutical salesmen. Journal of Marketing Research, 13, 25-33.
10.
Hackman, J., & Lawler, E.E., III. (1971). Employee reactions to job characteristics. Journal of Ap-plied Psychology, 55, 259-286.
11.
Jackson, S.E. (1983). Participation in decision making as a strategy for reducing job-related strain. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 3-19.
12.
Jackson, S.E., & Schuler, R.S. (1985). A meta-analysis and conceptual critique of research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work settings. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36, 16-78.
13.
James, L.R., Hater, J.J., Gent, M.J., & Bruni, J.R. (1978). Psychological climate: Implications from cognitive social learning theory and interactional psychology. Personnel Psychology, 31, 738-813.
14.
James, L.R., & Jones, A.P (1976). Organizational structure: A review of structural dimensions and their conceptual relationship with individual attitudes and behavior. Organizational Behav-ior and Human Performance, 16, 74-113.
15.
James, L.R., & Jones, A.RP (1980). Perceived job characteristics and job satisfaction: An Exami-nation of reciprocal causation. Personnel Psychology, 33, 97-135.
16.
Johannesson, R.E. (1973). Some problems in the measurement of organizational climate. Orga-nizational Behavior and Human Performance, 10, 118-144.
17.
Johnson, S.M., Smith, PRC., & Tucker, S.M. (1982). Response format of the Job Descriptive In-dex: Assessment of reliability and validity by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Journal of Ap-plied Psychology, 67, 500-505.
18.
Jones, A.P, & James, L.R. (1979). Psychological climate: Dimensions and relationships of indi-vidual and aggregated work environment perceptions. Organization Behavior and Human Per-formance, 23, 201-250.
19.
Kerr, S., & Jermier, J.M. (1978). Substitutes for leadership: Their meaning and measurement. Or-ganizational Behavior and Human Performance, 22, 375-403.
20.
Kopelman, R.E. (1976). Organizational control system responsiveness, expectancy theory con-structs and work motivation: Some interrelations and causal connections. Personnel Psychol-ogy, 29, 205-220.
21.
Kopelman, R.E., & Thompson, PRH. (1976). Boundary conditions for expectancy theory predic-tions of work motivation and job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 19, 237-258.
22.
Lawler, E.E., III. (1971). Pay and organizational effectiveness: A psychological view. New York: McGraw-Hill.
23.
Lawler, E.E., III. (1981). Pay and organizational development. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
24.
Leigh, J.H., & Futrell, C.M. (1985). From the trenches to the command post: Perceptual and at-titudinal differences between levels in the marketing management hierarchy. Journal of Business Research, 13, 511-536.
25.
Locke, E.A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M.D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1297-1349). Chicago: Rand McNally.
26.
McDaniel, S.W, Futrell, C.M., & Parasuraman, A. (1985). Social power bases of marketing ex-ecutives: The relationship with organizational climate. Journal of Business Research, 13, 77-85.
27.
Miles, R.H., & Perreault, WD., Jr. (1976). Organizational role conflict: Its antecedents and con-sequences. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 17, 19-44.
28.
Mobley, W H. (1982). Employee turnover: Causes, consequences, and control. Reading, MA: Ad-dison-Wesley Publishing.
29.
Mobley, W, Homer, S., & Hollingsworth, A. (1978). An evaluation of precursors of hospital em-ployee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 63, 408-414.
30.
Newman, J.E. (1975). Understanding the organizational structure-job attitude relationship through perceptions of the work environment. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 14, 371-397.
31.
Payne, R.L., & Pugh, D.S. (1976). Organizational structure and climate. In M.D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1125-1173). Chicago: Rand Mc-Nally.
32.
Porter, L.W, & Steers, R.M. (1973). Organizational work and personal factors in employee turn-over and absenteeism. Professional Psychology, 4, 151-176.
33.
Rizzo, J., House, R., & Lirtzman, S. (1970). Role conflict and ambiguity in complex organiza-tions. Administrative Science Quarterly, 15, 150-163.
34.
Rogers, D.L., & Molnar, J. (1976). Organizational antecedents of role conflict and ambiguity in top-level administrators. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 598-610.
35.
Salancik, G.R., & Pfeffer, J. (1978). A social information processing approach to job attitudes and task design. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23, 224-253.
36.
Schneider, B. (1975). Organizational climates: An essay. Personnel Psychology, 28, 447-479.
37.
Schneider, B., & Bartlett, C.J. (1968). Individual differences and organizational climate: 1. The research plan and questionnaire development. Personnel Psychology, 21, 323-333.
38.
Schneider, B., & Snyder, R.A. (1975). Some relationships between job satisfaction and organiza-tional climate. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, 318-328.
39.
Schuler, R.S. (1977a). Role conflict and ambiguity as a function of the task-structure-technology interaction. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 20, 66-74.
40.
Schuler, R.S. (1977b). Role perceptions, satisfaction, and performance moderated by organiza-tional level and participation in decision making. Academy of Management Journal, 20, 159-165.
41.
Schuler, R.S., Aldag, R.J., & Brief, A.P. (1977). Role conflict and ambiguity: A scale analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 20. 119-128.
42.
Seers, A., McGee, G.W, Serey, T.T., & Graen, G.B. (1983). The interaction of job stress and so-cial support: A strong inference investigation. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 273-284.
43.
Smith, P.C., Kendall, L.M., & Hulin, C.L. (1969). Measurement of satisfaction in work and re-tirement: A strategy for the study of attitudes. Chicago: Rand McNally.
44.
Standard and Poor's Corporation, (1977). Standard and Poor's register of corporations, directors and executives. (Vol. 2). New York: Author.
45.
Todd, J.T. (1973). The management control process: A behavioral science approach. Doctoral dis-sertation, Harvard Business School, 1973.
46.
Todd, J.T., Thompson, PRH., & Dalton, G.W (1974). Management control of personnel. The Journal of Accountancy, February, 34-40.
47.
Tosi, H. (1983). The organizational control structure. Journal of Business Research, 11, 271-279.
48.
Van Sell, M., Brief, A. R, & Schuler, R.S. (1981). Role conflict and role ambiguity: Integration of the literature and directions for future research. Human Relations, 34, 43-71.
49.
Vroom, V. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley.
50.
Walton, R.E. (1985). From control to commitment in the workplace. Harvard Business Review, 63, 77-84.
51.
Whetten, D.A. (1978). Coping with incompatible expectations: An integrated view of role conflict. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23, 254-271.
52.
Woodman, R.W., Futrell, C.M., & Crawford, J. (1981). Organizational climate and job satisfac-tion in an industrial salesforce: An investigation of the redundancy hypothesis. Proceedings of the 1981 national conference of the American Institute for Decision Sciences (pp. 395-397). At-lanta, GA: American Institute for Decision Sciences.
53.
Woodman, R.W, & King, D.C. (1978). Organizational climate: Science or folklore?Academy of Management Review, 3, 816-826.
