Auditors' client commitment: a reason to stay when organizational and professional commitment are low

In the context of auditing, client commitment has been defined as a form of dedication contributing to value-added service without compromising objectivity. While the importance of organizational and professional commitment for auditors' retention has already been established, very few studies have examined the effect of client commitment on intention to stay. The present study seeks to extend prior research on client commitment by applying affective, continuance and normative components to this target, in order to examine their additional and interaction effects on intention to stay. Our sample consists of 281 auditors working for CPA firms. We find that normative and continuance client commitment have a positive effect on the intention to stay in the organization, in addition to the effects of affective and continuance organizational commitment. Normative professional commitment has a positive effect, only when organizational commitment is high. Altogether, our results suggest that when organizational and professional commitment falter, client commitment remains the only force pushing auditors to stay, its effect then becoming even stronger. The managerial utility of promoting client commitment to selectively retain service-oriented auditors is discussed.