LINKING VIRTUAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT TO DYSFUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INTERRELATED WORK STRESSORS IN SMALL CPA FIRMS

Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examines how perceived virtual community support among auditors at small public accounting firms affects dysfunctional behaviors, including reduced audit quality practices (RAQP) and turnover intentions, and how work stressors mediate these effects. Respondents were determined through purposive sampling, and a total of 239 auditors from 37 small audit firms participated in this research. The findings indicate that perceived virtual community support indirectly mitigates engagement in RAQP and turnover intentions. This effect occurs through a chain of interrelated work stressors, where perceived work conflict and work ambiguity contribute to increased work overload, which subsequently intensifies RAQP and turnover intention. This study offers a novel contribution by exploring how professional virtual communities serve as social resources that mitigate auditors’ dysfunctional behaviors, namely audit quality reduction practices and turnover intentions, through work conflict, work ambiguity, and work overload.