Currently, auditors face changes in the auditing industry, which has increased the focus on marketing activities. Despite professional ideals, an increase in the commercialization of audit firms has been observed, shaping the identity of the auditor. Auditor identity has been found to be a driver for commercialization, but certain studies find commercialization to be negative for audit practice. We argue that individual auditor attributes can explain orientations in the auditor identity, which in turn could have implications for audit practice. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how auditor attributes are related to professional and commercial orientations, and how the various orientations are related to audit practice. The theories used in this study are agency theory, social identity theory, and the theory of professions. We employ a quantitative survey method, with a questionnaire sent out by e-mail including questions about attributes, professional and commercial orientation, and reduced audit quality acts. Our results indicate that a positive relation to professional orientation exists for attributes adaptability and marketing skills. A positive relation for commercial orientation exists for the attribute marketing skills, while a negative relation exists for communication skills. Our results suggest that commercial orientation has a positive relation to auditors’ propensity to engage in RAQ acts. We find that knowledge has a negative relation to RAQ acts. A weak positive relation exists between adaptability and RAQ acts. The degree to which these results explain professional and commercial orientation and RAQ acts is small, why more research is needed.

Adopting the view that a virtual community is an influential social entity, this study provides a theoretical framework that identifies a linkage among the individual values of virtual community members, commercial orientation of virtual communities and attitudes towards the information provided by virtual communities. The present study suggests that individual values (i.e., purposive, self-discovery, social and entertainment) influence the selection of virtual communities. The community's commercial orientation (i.e., commercial or noncommercial), in turn, influences the individual attitudes towards the information provided by the communities. Credibility, relevance and empathy are the proposed attitudes that individuals may form towards the information provided in virtual communities. The proposed model provides valuable implications for marketers and business people who want to source virtual communities as viable marketing channels.