Organizational‐professional conflict and cultural differences among auditors in emerging markets

Purpose - This paper seeks to investigate the relationships between organizational‐professional conflict (OPC), organizational commitment (OC), professional commitment (PC), job satisfaction (JS), and job resignation intention (JR) in the Jordanian and Kuwaiti auditing firms. In addition, the paper examines the impacts of demographic and nationality variables on the previous variables. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected through a survey questionnaire for a sample of 308 auditors from Jordan and Kuwait. Findings - The study finds that there is a significant impact of OC and PC on OPC and negative correlation between OC and PC. Additionally, the results show a negative correlation between OPC and JS and positive correlation between JS and OC. The nationality variable that dichotomizes Jordan and Kuwait sub samples has a significant effect on OPC and JR. Research limitations/implications - The sample is limited to auditing firms that have five or more auditors. Thus, the results are not generalizable to all audit firms working in these two countries. Practical implications - OPC in large audit firms is more than that in small audit firms and the OC in large audit firms is less than that in small audit firms. This finding suggests that large auditing firms would do well when managing these factors. Originality/value - Prior research is not extensive in this area, specifically that which compares the attitudes of the auditors in Jordan and Kuwait.