BACKGROUND: Business rescue practitioners (BRPs) need to play certain personal and professional roles as business rescue practitioners, as well as in their own careers apart from business rescue. It is evident that a conflict exists as to where to allocate time regarding role priorities - however, research results and literature on this topic are limited. RESEARCH PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to develop a better understanding of the roles played by BRPs, role conflict experienced by BRPs, and the extent to which conflict occurs specifically during the three phases of a business rescue operation. Motivation for the study: In South Africa, the field of business rescue is still largely in its infancy, and the roles of BRPs have not been researched. Therefore, this study focused on this topic. RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD: This study employed a generic qualitative research design and made use of 12 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with participants who were licensed BRPs. These were supplemented by a graphic presentation to elicit further results. FINDINGS: Findings indicate that significant role conflict exists between BRPs' rescue roles and their roles associated with their other priorities. It is revealed that roles could be placed into three categories: generic or dominant roles, enabler roles, and peripheral roles. Finally the study demonstrates that role conflicts which occur are a result of an imbalance of time demanded by the multiple role requirements within the BR process.