Role theory provides conceptual elements and dynamic relations across the social sciences. Indeed, the notion of role has become something of a "meta-construct" that has been adapted to the scholarly focus and methodological predilections of fields such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, and management, to name just a few. Such broad application, while suiting testimony to the importance of role constructs in social theory, has led to some conceptual confusion, formulamatic imprecision, and sharply diverging interpretations. Nevertheless, there remains a great deal of consensus about the integral nature of roles in the operation of social systems and the behavior of individuals.

Fundamentally, roles are organized behavioral patterns and expectations that attend a given position (hierarchical, functional, or social) or that accompany a specific situation. That is, roles encapsulate and invoke the accepted repertoire of individual conduct associated with a...