Role conflict, role ambiguity and job satisfaction: Perceptions of the Brazilian controllers

Abstract

From early times to the present, accounting literature has recorded several situations involving role conflict and ambiguity that cause tension among controllers. The theoretical framework was comprised of the seminal work on Role Theory by Katz and Kahn (1970), and empirical evidence regarding the evolution of the role of controllers in the enterprises. In this study, we used the structural equations technique, which allowed for non-rejection of the two study hypotheses, thus providing evidence that role conflict and ambiguity adversely affect job satisfaction among Brazilian controllers. The sample was comprised of 114 controllers. An electronic questionnaire was used to collect the data, allowing information about the respondents to be captured, along with their perceptions regarding levels of role conflict and ambiguity and job satisfaction. For this, the tools developed by Rizzo, House, and Lirtzman (1970) were used, as well as the Job Satisfaction Index presented by Tarrant and Sabo (2010). The results indicated that Brazilian controllers perceive role conflict and role ambiguity while they perform their duties. Job satisfaction of the controllers isaffected more strongly by role ambiguity than by role conflict. However, despite perceiving these two tensions, executives are moderately satisfied with their current working conditions.