Measuring the effects of role efficacy enhancement on knowledge workers : Evidence from Indian IT industry

Purpose – Knowledge workers (KWs) in information technology (IT) sector have become one of the key drivers for strategic competitiveness as they contribute toward an organization’s performance. In this context, the role of knowledge workers, who work on deputation to client side, is even more critical as they contribute directly to the revenue inflows. The purpose of this paper is to explore their role efficacy (RE) and organizational role stress dimensions, which have been affecting their performance and organization effectiveness. The study further explored the relationship between RE and role stress dimensions. Two distinct samples were identified, one where Indian KWs working in Indian company and Indian KWs working in foreign firm, where they have been discharging client facing technical roles. Design/methodology/approach – A primary study has been conducted choosing questionnaire survey and telephonic interviews. A questionnaire was designed in such a manner so that the authors can extract the required information from the respondents about various dimensions of RE. This instrument was used to test the conceptual model of RE. Overall 50+ responses were obtained from IT companies in each of the two selected categories. Findings – The results have shown that role expectation conflict and role isolation are the two major dimensions contributing to role stress for the selected sample, while centrality and integration have contributed to overall role efficacy for both the categories. Human resource interventions were suggested to enhance their RE and reduce their role stress. Originality/value – This study made an attempt to investigate the relationship between RE and role stress dimensions of the KWs which has not been attempted in any previous published literature.