Market Competitive Strategy and Audit Firm Choice:Moderating Roles of TMT Diversity and Ownership Structure in Chinese Manufacturing Firms

This study examines how top management team (TMT) characteristics and strategic orientation influence the selection of Big 4 audit firms ‎among listed manufacturing companies in Jiangsu, China. Drawing on Upper Echelons Theory, Strategic Fit Theory, and Agency Theory, ‎the research investigates whether firms with offensive strategic orientations are more likely to engage Big 4 auditors, and how this relationship is moderated by TMT gender diversity and overseas experience. Using a panel dataset of 282 A-share manufacturing firms spanning ‎‎2012–2022 (yielding 1,905 firm-year observations), we apply logistic regression with interaction effects. Results show that offensive strategies significantly increase the likelihood of Big 4 auditor selection. Furthermore, the presence of female executives and internationally experienced managers strengthens this relationship, particularly within non-family firms. Interaction models demonstrate improved predictive ‎accuracy (McFadden’s R² = 0.183; classification accuracy = 72.3%). These findings provide theoretical contributions by linking behavioral ‎governance with strategic signaling and offer practical insights for firms seeking legitimacy through audit firm choice in competitive environments‎.