The Moderator Effect Of Person-organization Ethical Fit On Auditor’s Ethical Action

With the efficiency mechanisms of market economy, auditor’s moral behavior is getting more and more attention from scholars. Studies on ethical behavior of auditors always focus on factors like individual characteristics or organizational environment. Few studies have combined the two, or considered whether there is an impact on the ethical behavior from the two factors if they fit each other. Studies have been found that people-organization fit can affect moral decisions. This article based on the person-organization ethical fit aims to explore the possible impact of this kind of fit on auditor’s ethical behavior.This study is guided by theories from psychology and organizational behavior field, using questionnaire survey and other research methods. In the Chinese environment, I have analyzed the influence and impact of people-organization fit on auditor’s ethical behavior. The individual moral characteristics involved in this article are moral attention, regular focus, moral identity, self-control. The environmental factor is organizational ethical climate which includes four dimensions, namely the collective moral sensitivity, collective moral judgment, collective moral motivation, collective moral character. The person-organization ethical fit is constructed by matching the four variables of moral characteristics and the four dimensions of organizational ethical climate. Thereby, I explored the role played by person-organization ethical fit in the relationship among individual moral characteristics, organizational ethical climate and ethical behavior.The empirical results show that:(1) organizational ethical climate can effectively predict the ethical behavior of auditors. Collective moral sensitivity, collective moral motivation have a positive prediction of auditor’s ethical behavior; collective moral judgment and collective moral character have no significant prediction of ethical behavior. (2) Individual moral characteristics have no direct effect on ethical behavior. (3) Person-organization ethical fit plays partial effect as a moderator in the relationship between organization ethical climate and ethical behavior as well as in the relationship between individual moral characteristics and ethical behavior.The results support the hypothesis that person-organization ethical fit plays partial effect as a moderator in the relationship between organization ethical climate and ethical behavior as well as in the relationship between individual moral characteristics with ethical behavior. The practical implications are that accounting firms should measure the degree of person-organization ethical fit between auditors and the firm in recruitment and promotion section, and select person who fits the organization best. Also, it is important to enhance the degree of the fit through simulation scenarios training.