Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Commercialization of audit firms and auditors’ subjective well-being

Commercialization of audit firms and auditors’ subjective well-being The purpose of this study is to explore how the commercialization of audit firms relates to the subjective well-being (SWB) of auditors. Drawing on the conservation of resources and social identity theories, the authors argue that the commercialization of audit firms enhances auditors’ subjective well-being in its overall happiness and job-related dimensions through two theoretical mechanisms. First, it constitutes a valuable resource for an auditor, and second, it reinforces the auditor’s identification with a firm. The authors subsequently contend that this relation is contingent on whether auditors are used in Big four or non-Big four audit firms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test our hypotheses-based data obtained from a survey of 166 Swedish auditors. The data are explored by means of descriptive statistics, correlation matrixes and linear moderating multiple regression analyzes.FindingsThe authors show that commercial orientation can have a positive effect on auditors’ SWB. The authors also find that the positive relationship between commercialization and SWB is stronger for auditors employed by one of the Big four firms.Originality/valueThe results contribute to the ongoing debate about the normalization of commercialization within the audit profession by theorizing on and providing empirical support for the positive consequences of commercialization. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Meditari Accountancy Research Emerald Publishing

Commercialization of audit firms and auditors’ subjective well-being

Download PDF
21 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/commercialization-of-audit-firms-and-auditors-subjective-well-being-L0vLl2iYm0

References (95)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2049-372X
DOI
10.1108/medar-10-2018-0384
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how the commercialization of audit firms relates to the subjective well-being (SWB) of auditors. Drawing on the conservation of resources and social identity theories, the authors argue that the commercialization of audit firms enhances auditors’ subjective well-being in its overall happiness and job-related dimensions through two theoretical mechanisms. First, it constitutes a valuable resource for an auditor, and second, it reinforces the auditor’s identification with a firm. The authors subsequently contend that this relation is contingent on whether auditors are used in Big four or non-Big four audit firms.Design/methodology/approachThe authors test our hypotheses-based data obtained from a survey of 166 Swedish auditors. The data are explored by means of descriptive statistics, correlation matrixes and linear moderating multiple regression analyzes.FindingsThe authors show that commercial orientation can have a positive effect on auditors’ SWB. The authors also find that the positive relationship between commercialization and SWB is stronger for auditors employed by one of the Big four firms.Originality/valueThe results contribute to the ongoing debate about the normalization of commercialization within the audit profession by theorizing on and providing empirical support for the positive consequences of commercialization.

Journal

Meditari Accountancy Research – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 18, 2020

Keywords: Sweden; Commercialization; Subjective well-being; Big 4; Auditor; Audit firm; Orientations

There are no references for this article.