Audit process quality, its key drivers and the client's competitive outcomes in voluntary industry standard audits: An empirical study of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified organizations

Voluntary industry standards have increased in popularity due to globalization and pressures imposed by a wide variety of stakeholders. However, there have been growing concerns with the credibility of voluntary industry standards. For instance, the performance implication of prominent standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, are at the center of the debate. Primarily focusing on the client, the organization who pursues the ISO certification, previous studies pay little attention to the auditor, the knowledgeable professional in the certification process. To address the missing link, this study focuses on how the audit process quality is assessed, the effect of the auditor's knowledge-based resources on the audit process quality, and the effect of the audit process quality on the client's competitive outcomes and client satisfaction.;The developed hypotheses are tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) based on the data collected from 204 managers at ISO certified plants in Canada and U.S. Two approaches are used to test potential non-response bias: compare early and late responses in the planned survey; conduct a one-page follow-up survey after the planned survey, then compare the responses collected from the planned survey and those collected from the follow-up survey for non-respondents. No significant difference is found. Construct validity is supported by reliability assessment and factor analysis results.;The results reveal that audit process quality is multistage: stage-one audit process quality associated with the first readiness review stage; stage-two audit process quality associated with the second on-site certification audit stage. While stage-one audit process quality is assessed by efficiency measures related to time and cost, stage-two audit process quality is multidimensional, reflecting the auditor's reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and efficiency perceived by the client. I found that communication is positively related to stage-one process quality while the auditor's human capital and structural capital are not significant factors. Surprisingly, cooperation is negatively related to stage-one audit process quality. Human capital, communication and cooperation are found to be positively related to stage-two audit process quality. Stage-two audit process quality is found to be positively related to the client's competitive outcomes and client satisfaction while stage-one audit process quality has no direct effects.;Keywords: Knowledge-based Resources, Audit Process Quality, the Client's Competitive Outcomes, Client Satisfaction, Structural Equation Modeling, Survey;Building on extant literature, this study hypothesizes that audit process quality is a multistage, multidimensional construct. I further hypothesize that the auditor's knowledge-based resources are positively related to audit process quality; and audit process quality is positively related to the client's competitive outcomes and client satisfaction.