Jeffrey Haynie, C. Brian Flynn and David Herda
Based on a combination of career construction theory (CCT) and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study proposes and examines a serial mediation model connecting…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on a combination of career construction theory (CCT) and conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study proposes and examines a serial mediation model connecting proactive personality with supervisor-rated task performance sequentially through career adaptability and job engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 177 supervisor–subordinate dyads in the United States participated in the multisource survey, and structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. The proposed indirect effects were evaluated using a bootstrap procedure.
Findings
Results indicated that career adaptability mediated the relationship between proactive personality and job engagement, job engagement mediated the relationship between career adaptability and supervisor-rated task performance and career adaptability and job engagement sequentially mediated the relationship between proactive personality and supervisor-rated task performance.
Research limitations/implications
Through an examination of the nomological network pertaining to career adaptability, the results provide strong evidence in support of integrating CCT with COR theory in this research stream. Future studies should continue to expand upon the model presented here by considering potential moderators that might influence certain paths within this relationship network and use longitudinal designs to allow for stronger causal inferences.
Practical implications
Given the central role proactive personality plays in career construction and job engagement, organizations should encourage workers to be more proactive while on the job. This may help engender career adaptability and work engagement among employees – ultimately contributing to organizational success.
Originality/value
This study responds to calls linking career adaptability to supervisory ratings of work performance. In doing so, it advances the literatures on proactive personality and career adaptability by highlighting the importance of considering the tenets of both CCT and COR theory.
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David N. Herda, James J. Lavelle, John R. Lauck, Randall F. Young, Stuart M. Smith and Chaoping Li
Prior research finds that auditors can be distinctively committed to multiple workplace targets (e.g., their audit firm, supervisors, profession, and clients). This study…
Abstract
Prior research finds that auditors can be distinctively committed to multiple workplace targets (e.g., their audit firm, supervisors, profession, and clients). This study investigates an underexamined target of auditor commitment – engagement teams. Given that these teams are responsible for performing key audit tasks for clients and external stakeholders, we argue that auditors' commitment to their team can affect auditor behavior. Using a sample of 121 auditors, our results indicate that quality social exchange relationships between individual auditors and their engagement teams, activated by perceptions of team fairness, and reciprocated with team commitment, are associated with beneficial group-oriented behavior. Specifically, we posit and find that perceived team fairness predicts perceived team support, perceived team support predicts team commitment, and team commitment predicts citizenship behavior directed toward the engagement team (e.g., helping the team by taking on extra responsibilities during an audit). We also find that the social exchange proxies of perceived team support and team commitment sequentially mediate the positive effect of perceived team fairness on team citizenship behavior, and that team commitment is a stronger predictor of team citizenship behavior than auditors' commitment to their firm.
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David N. Herda, Michael J. Petersen and Richard Fontaine
– The purpose of this paper is to determine if self-serving bias affects audit client satisfaction level with their audit firm.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine if self-serving bias affects audit client satisfaction level with their audit firm.
Design/methodology/approach
A 2×2 between-subjects design is used, where the authors experimentally manipulate the level of client involvement in the audit and the extent of value-added services the client received.
Findings
Using a sample of 115 financial managers (audit clients), the authors find no evidence that self-serving bias exists among clients in the experimental setting. Rather, they find that clients appear to be more satisfied with their auditor when they (clients) participate more in the service exchange.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to a specific context within the privately held company audit setting.
Practical implications
Audit firms may consider encouraging their privately held clients to participate more in the audit process by clearly communicating expectations and providing clients with audit preparedness materials, including templates and training where necessary.
Originality/value
Although the self-serving bias has been shown to exist in the marketing literature, the authors present a setting where the relationship between service provider (auditor) and customer (client) is such that the self-serving bias may not hold.
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Thomas D. Dowdell, David N. Herda, Mina J. Pizzini and Laura Trude
This study examines the scholarly output of accounting researchers in the periods surrounding a change in university affiliation. Our expectation that publishing activity will…
Abstract
This study examines the scholarly output of accounting researchers in the periods surrounding a change in university affiliation. Our expectation that publishing activity will increase in periods around an institutional change is based on expectancy theories and informed by studies on the contract year performances of professional athletes. Using a sample of 635 accounting professors who switched universities between 2008 and 2014, the authors find evidence that accounting authors who switch universities publish more in the years around a switch compared with other years. Our research contributes to the literature on changes in university affiliation by documenting a contract year phenomenon operating within accounting academia. Practical implications for college administrators are also discussed.
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Christine Gimbar, Gabriel Saucedo and Nicole Wright
In this paper, the authors examine auditor upward feedback, which provides a unique opportunity for staff auditors to exercise their voice within an audit firm. Upward feedback…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors examine auditor upward feedback, which provides a unique opportunity for staff auditors to exercise their voice within an audit firm. Upward feedback can improve employee perceptions of fairness and justice while mitigating feelings of burnout and turnover intentions, thus enhancing audit quality. However, it is unclear which circumstances improve the likelihood that auditors will use their voice and give feedback to superiors. The purpose of this study is to investigate contextual factors that impact the likelihood that auditors will provide upward feedback.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a 2 × 2 + 2 experiment with staff auditors, the authors test the likelihood of giving feedback when presented with different feedback systems (electronic anonymous, face-to-face or no opportunity) and experiences with managers (favorable or unfavorable).
Findings
The authors find that, while feedback type alone does not change the likelihood of auditors providing upward feedback, auditors are more likely to provide feedback after a favorable manager experience than an unfavorable one. The likelihood of providing feedback after an unfavorable experience is higher, however, when the feedback type is electronic and anonymous as opposed to face-to-face. Additional analyses illustrate strong relationships between manager experience, feedback type and procedural justice, which significantly influence the turnover intentions of staff auditors.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the authors are the first to examine the value of subordinates’ upward feedback on firm outcomes, including burnout and turnover intention.
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Kenneth J. Smith, David J. Emerson and Charles R. Boster
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role stress model originally developed by Fogarty et al. (2000) using more refined measures, a context-specific performance metric…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role stress model originally developed by Fogarty et al. (2000) using more refined measures, a context-specific performance metric and a targeted respondent group. The investigation uses a sample of working professional auditors to investigate the associations between job stressors, burnout and job outcomes using an industry-specific measure of job performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The analyses use structural equations modeling procedures to examine a model that postulates that burnout will mediate the relations between job stressors and job outcomes. The data for the study come from 293 survey instruments completed by auditors working at the offices of 11 public accounting firms. A parsimonious job satisfaction scale based on Churchill et al.’s (1985) 27-item scale is developed using classical test-item analysis and is incorporated into the analysis.
Findings
The results suggest three significant items of note. First, although prior research has found that burnout partially mediates relations between job stressors and job outcomes, this study shows that burnout fully mediates these associations. Second, the study provides support for the reduced audit quality practices (RAQP) scale as an audit-specific construct for job performance. Finally, results show that the 27-item job satisfaction scale can successfully be reduced to a six-item scale.
Research limitations/implications
While this study is subject to the limitations inherent to all cross-sectional studies that use self-report instruments, the results further the knowledge related to the role stress paradigm in auditor work settings.
Practical implications
This study’s findings provides a cogent argument for human resource managers at public accounting firms to monitor staff burnout levels and implement interventional strategies (Jones III et al., 2010) when these levels become excessive. Efforts to mitigate staff burnout levels may decrease the likelihood of staff engagement in dysfunctional audit practices and the associated costs to the firm and the individual(s) involved.
Originality/value
The findings also demonstrate the superiority of the RAQP scale in terms of explaining variance in auditor performance when compared to the modified performance measures utilized in prior research.
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Annkatrin Mies and Peter Neergaard
In 2014, the European Union (EU) adopted the non-financial reporting Directive (2014/95/EU) making the disclosure of certain non-financial topics mandatory for large listed…
Abstract
In 2014, the European Union (EU) adopted the non-financial reporting Directive (2014/95/EU) making the disclosure of certain non-financial topics mandatory for large listed companies. They are required to report on policies, actions and outcomes regarding their environmental impact, social and employee matters, impact on human rights and corruption. Denmark introduced mandatory corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting already in 2009, while Germany had no specific legislation on CSR reporting before 2017. Some authors allege that regulation positively impacts CSR reporting, while others argue that the voluntary nature of CSR reporting is essential (Romolini, Fissi, & Gori, 2014). Critics of mandatory reporting claim that non-financial reporting should develop bottom-up, as mandatory one-size-fits-all solutions are inappropriate given the differences among companies (ICC, 2015). The aim of this chapter is to evaluate the effect of legislation on reporting quality by comparing Denmark with a long tradition for mandatory reporting and Germany introducing mandatory rather recently. However, a rich body of literature exists on factors impacting CSR reporting other than legislation. These are among others: firm size, ownership structure, industrial sector and culture (Hahn & Kühnen, 2013.)
The chapter applies a content analysis of 150 CSR reports from German and Danish listed companies between 2008 and 2017 from four different industrial sectors. The chapter finds that mandatory reporting improves overall report quality by lifting the quality floor, yet, without lifting the quality ceiling. Size is important as improvements in reporting are largest in small and medium-sized companies. Companies in environmentally sensitive sectors tend to disclose more relevant environmental information than companies in less sensitive sectors. Both culture and ownership structure has a moderating effect on report quality.