The Impact of Social Influence Pressures, Commitment, and Personality on Judgments by Auditors: Evidence from Japan

Abstract

ABSTRACT We examine whether obedience and conformity pressures generated by superiors (partners) and colleagues within audit firms cause dysfunctional audit behavior in Japan. We also investigate whether high levels of professional and organizational commitment and the personal attributes of auditors mitigate these pressures. The results indicate that obedience pressure can impair the judgments of auditors, whereas conformity pressure does not have a significant influence. The application of a three-dimensional model of commitment and a five-dimensional scale of individual personalities reveals that dysfunctional audit behavior can be mitigated by enhancing affective and normative commitment, and by addressing highly masculine characteristics in individual auditors.