Interrole conflict as a predictor of job satisfaction and propensity to leave A study of professional accountants

Interrole conflict arises from incompatible role requirements between two or more work‐related roles. This study examined its effect on job satisfaction and propensity to leave. Data were collected from a sample of 251 professional accountants employed in Hong Kong firms. Results from hierarchical regression analyses revealed that interrole conflict was associated with low job satisfaction and high propensity to leave. In addition, finds that professional commitment moderated the relationship between interrole conflict and propensity to leave. Research and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

[1]  Local-cosmopolitan and bureaucratic perceptions in public accounting firms , 1977 .

[2]  S. Grover,et al.  Why Professionals Lie: The Impact of Professional Role Conflict on Reporting Accuracy , 1993 .

[3]  A. Gouldner.  Cosmopolitans and locals : toward an analysis of latent social roles-II , 1957 .

[4]  Lynda A. King,et al.  Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity: A Critical Assessment of Construct Validity , 1990 .

[5]  Paula C. Morrow,et al.  The theory and measurement of work commitment , 1993 .

[6]  K. T. Liou,et al.  Understanding employee commitment in the public organization: a study of the juvenile detention center , 1995 .

[7]  R. Gitelson,et al.  A Meta-Analysis of the Correlates of Role Conflict and Ambiguity , 1983 .

[8]  R. G. Corwin.  The Professional Employee: A Study of Conflict in Nursing Roles , 1961, American Journal of Sociology.

[9]  Steven Kerr,et al.  Issues in the study of “professionals” in organizations: The case of scientists and engineers , 1977 .

[10]  Russell Thornton,et al.  Organizational Involvement and Commitment to Organization and Profession. , 1970 .

[11]  J. W. Getzels,et al.  Role, Role Conflict, and Effectiveness: An Empirical Study , 1954 .

[12]  C. Cowton,et al.  Putting Meta-Analysis to Work: Accountants' Organizational-Professional Conflict , 2000 .

[13]  R. Kahn,et al.  Organizational Stress: Studies in Role Conflict and Ambiguity. , 1965 .

[14]  Charles H. Schwepker,et al.  The influence of ethical climate and ethical conflict on role stress in the sales force , 1997 .

[15]  Stephen M. Colarelli.  Methods of communication and mediating processes in realistic job previews. , 1984 .

[16]  A. Bedeian,et al.  A path-analytic study of the consequences of role conflict and ambiguity. , 1981, Academy of Management journal. Academy of Management.

[17]  William Turley,et al.  The Organisational Turnover Intentions of chartered Accountants - a test of a causal model , 1995 .

[18]  Le Thi Cao,et al.  The influence of career stage on the work attitudes of male and female accounting professionals , 1996 .

[19]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification , 1992 .

[20]  Judith M. Collins,et al.  Jackson and Schuler (1985) Revisited: A Meta-Analysis of the Relationships Between Role Ambiguity, Role Conflict, and Job Performance , 2000 .

[21]  Robert J. House,et al.  Role conflict and ambiguity as critical variables in a model of organizational behavior , 1972 .

[22]  Kathryn M. Bartol,et al.  Professionalism as a predictor of organizational commitment, role stress, and turnover: a multidim , 1979 .

[23]  S. Aryee,et al.  Antecedents of Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intentions Among Professional Accountants in Different Employment Settings in Singapore , 1991 .

[24]  James E. Sorensen,et al.  The Conflict of Professionals in Bureaucratic Organizations. , 1974 .

[25]  S. Lirtzman,et al.  Role Conflict and Ambiguity in Complex Organizations. , 1970 .

[26]  Edward R. Kemery,et al.  Outcomes of role stress: a multisample constructive replication. , 1985, Academy of Management journal. Academy of Management.

[27]  R. Bhagat,et al.  Organizational Stress, Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: Where Do We Go From Here? , 1992 .

[28]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[29]  A Comparison of Models of Role Orientations of Professionals in a Research-Oriented University. , 1981 .

[30]  Jean E. Wallace.  Professional and Organizational Commitment: Compatible or Incompatible? , 1993 .

[31]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  LOYAL FROM DAY ONE: BIODATA, ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTIFICATION, AND TURNOVER AMONG NEWCOMERS , 1995 .

[32]  An investigation of the sources, moderators, and psychological symptoms of stress among audit seniors* , 1990 .

[33]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  Social identity theory and the organization , 1989 .

[34]  S. Pandey,et al.  DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASURE OF ROLE CONFLICT , 1997 .

[35]  Randall S. Schuler,et al.  Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity: Integration of the Literature and Directions for Future Research , 1981 .

[36]  L. H. Chusmir,et al.  Success strivings and their relationship to affective work behaviors: gender differences. , 1992, The Journal of social psychology.

[37]  Richard H. Hall,et al.  Professionalization and Bureaucratization , 1968 .

[38]  E. A. Locke.  The nature and causes of job satisfaction , 1976 .

[39]  Arthur G. Bedeian,et al.  Role stress, physical symptomatology, and turnover intentions: A causal analysis of three alternative specifications , 1987 .

[40]  Joseph A. Alutto,et al.  Personal and Role-Related Factors in the Development of Organizational Commitment. , 1972 .

[41]  N. Aranya,et al.  Organizational-Professional Conflict among U.S. and Israeli Professional Accountants , 1983 .

[42]  Philip H. Mirvis,et al.  Assessing organizational change : a guide to methods, measures, and practices , 1984 .

[43]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[44]  Mark W. Dirsmith,et al.  The Calculated and the Avowed: Techniques of Discipline and Struggles over Identity in Big Six Public Accounting Firms , 1998 .

[45]  R. Keesing.  Explorations in role analysis , 1975 .

[46]  S. Jackson,et al.  A meta-analysis and conceptual critique of research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work settings , 1985 .