The present study investigated variables that moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy. Results of a field study found support for the moderating role of learning goal orientation, such that the relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy was weaker when learning goal orientation was high. In addition, we found that procedural justice moderated the role ambiguity—self-efficacy relationship, such that the relationship was stronger when procedural justice was high. However, contrary to our prediction, avoiding goal orientation did not interact with role ambiguity to predict self-efficacy. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.
The construct of role ambiguity, defined as “employees’ perceptions of uncertainty concerning various aspects of their jobs” (Breaugh & Colihan, 1994, p. 191), has generated persistent research interest. In part, this is due to the fact that research findings have related it to a broad range of work-relevant outcomes, such as performance, turnover intentions, actual turnover, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment (Fisher and Gitelson, 1983, Jackson and Schuler, 1985 and Tubre and Collins, 2000). Among the many variables that have been found to be related to role ambiguity, one receiving increased research attention is self-efficacy (Beauchamp et al., 2002, Chen and Bliese, 2002 and Jex and Gudanowski, 1992). Self-efficacy refers to “people’s beliefs about their capabilities to exercise control over events that affect their lives” (Bandura, 1989, p. 1175). In the present study, we focus on the belief in one’s capability to execute actions needed to meet job requirements, a form of self-efficacy that is task specific and relative malleable (Chen, Gully, & Eden, 2004).
There are two reasons to believe that role ambiguity may be negatively related to self-efficacy. First, role ambiguity reduces the quality of the information that can be used to make an accurate assessment of one’s ability to perform a task. Second, according to social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977), to have a high level of self-efficacy, a person must be able to visualize effective performance in a given situation. When role ambiguity is high, the ability to visualize one’s performance is impaired, thereby reducing one’s confidence in his/her ability to perform effectively. Consistent with these arguments, Gist and Mitchell (1992) suggested that one way to increase self-efficacy is to give an individual “a more thorough understanding of the task attributes, complexity, task environment, and the way in which these factors can be controlled” (p. 203).
However, there has been mixed empirical evidence on the negative relationship between role ambiguity and self-efficacy. While a negative relationship has been found in some studies (e.g., Beauchamp et al., 2002 and Bray and Brawley, 2002), no such effects have been observed in others (Jex & Gudanowski, 1992). Such inconsistent findings suggest the presence of moderating variables. The present study sought to identify conditions under which role ambiguity may be related to self-efficacy. According to Kahn and colleagues (1964), the relationships between role ambiguity and its related variables tend to be moderated by three broad categories of variables: organizational, interpersonal, and personality processes. In the present study, we focused on two potential moderators: goal orientation representing a personality process and procedural justice representing an organizational process.