A model of the relationships between identity/role congruence, role strain, and organizational outcome variables among research and development scientists and engineers

This study explored how occupational values of scientists and engineers interact with perceived job expectations to produce role strain among these workers. The links between identity/role congruence, role strain, and attitudinal and behavioral intent outcomes were examined. In addition, facilitating organizational conditions within the research environment and individual coping behaviors of scientific workers were investigated as moderators of the relationships between role conflict and role strain and between role strain and the organizational outcomes.

Participants were 186 scientists and engineers who were employed at a large energy research and development organization at a single location. All respondents, of whom 95 percent were male, held doctoral degrees and had worked at the organization for five or more years. Data were collected via questionnaires completed by the respondents. In addition, 121 supervisors provided ratings of the respondents' performance, also via questionnaires.

The results of the study indicated that research management conflict was positively related to role strain experienced as withdrawal, but not to alarm or resistance. Basic research conflict was related to none of the three types of role strain measured. Mixed results with regard to the relationships between the three types of role strain and the various outcome variables were discovered. No support was found for the moderating effects of the coping strategies and the organizational conditions on the conflict-strain-outcome relationships. However, coping by accommodation to organizational demands was directly and positively related to experienced resistance, and coping by concentrating on scientific roles was directly and positively related to self evaluations of scientific performance. In addition, the organizational conditions had strong inverse or positive associations with role strain, work and life satisfaction, job involvement, and supervisory evaluations of performance). These results are discussed, as well as the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the study.