The role of moral identity in auditor’s ethical decision making

Abstract

This article aims to test and provide empirical evidence of the moderated mediating role that plays moral identity in explaining auditor’s ethical decision making based on Jones' model of moral intensity. Therefore, this research proposes a moderated mediation model where moral identity accessibility mediates the relationship between perceived moral intensity and auditors’ moral judgment. Moreover, Moral identity centrality is tested as a moderator variable for this socio-cognitive model. This study used random sampling methods for external senior auditors operating in audit firms in Morocco. Data obtained by 125 respondents and processed with SmartPLS. The results show that the impact of an auditor’s perceived moral intensity on his moral judgment is fully mediated by moral identity accessibility and moderated by moral identity centrality. Auditor’s moral intensity perception seems to trigger the access to moral identity which in turn affects positively the moral judgment based on how central is moral identity to the individual.