The moderating effect of interpersonal conflict in knowledge sharing and ego depletion on auditor’s judgment and decision making quality relationship / Frida Fanani Rohma, Sherina Prastika Tri Agustin and Tito IM. Rahman Hakim

This research investigated the moderating effect of interpersonal conflict on knowledge sharing and ego depletion on the auditor’s judgment and decision-making (JDM) quality relationship. Auditing is one of the professions vulnerable to interpersonal conflict, which is a temporary state of lack of cognitive resources for self-control. This research employed a quantitative method involving 98 auditors. The results found knowledge sharing, ego depletion, and interpersonal conflict affected the auditor’s JDM. Interpersonal conflict moderated the effect of knowledge sharing and ego depletion on the auditor’s JDM. The existence of interpersonal conflict impeded auditors from doing knowledge sharing. Interestingly, interpersonal conflict can minimize the effect of an auditor's ego depletion; based on the inverted U theory, the optimal stress level can make individuals more challenged, which can impact improving auditor performance. This research provided practical implications by referring to the impact of interpersonal conflict as a double-edged sword in maintaining the quality JDM amidst depletion of cognitive resources in the constructs of knowledge sharing and ego depletion. Practitioners need to pay attention to the crucial role of maintaining a system of dividing audit teams based on industry specifications and individual capabilities which have a potentially detrimental impact on the organization.