IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/28924.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: a research note

Author

Listed:
  • Hall, Matthew
  • Smith, David

Abstract

Turnover in public accounting firms is a critically important issue as firms seek to retain quality accounting personnel in the face of skilled labour shortages. Mentoring is one initiative that has been suggested as a means of reducing the high costs associated with employee turnover. However, prior accounting research examining the association between mentoring and turnover intentions has produced mixed results, which may be due, at least in part, to difficulties in operationalizing the mentoring construct. Drawing on recent management literature regarding organizational turnover intentions, we challenge the conventional view that mentoring generally leads to reduced turnover intentions, by testing a theoretical model that posits that different functions of mentoring have differing effects on turnover intentions. Specifically, we argue that while the psychosocial support function of mentoring can serve to reduce public accountants’ turnover intentions, the career development function of mentoring has the potential to increase turnover intentions. Results support this conclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: a research note," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28924, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:28924
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/28924/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Herbohn, K., 2004. "Informal mentoring relationships and the career processes of public accountants," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 369-393.
    2. Phyllis Tharenou, 2005. "Does Mentor Support Increase Women's Career Advancement More than Men's? The Differential Effects of Career and Psychosocial Support," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 30(1), pages 77-109, June.
    3. Hall, Matthew, 2008. "The effect of comprehensive performance measurement systems on role clarity, psychological empowerment and managerial performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(2-3), pages 141-163.
    4. Viator, Ralph E., 2001. "The association of formal and informal public accounting mentoring with role stress and related job outcomes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 73-93, January.
    5. Shields, Michael D. & Deng, F. Johnny & Kato, Yutaka, 2000. "The design and effects of control systems: tests of direct- and indirect-effects models," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 185-202, February.
    6. Scandura, T. A. & Viator, R. E., 1994. "Mentoring in public accounting firms: An analysis of mentor-protege relationships, mentorship functions, and protege turnover intentions," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 19(8), pages 717-734, November.
    7. Parker, Robert J. & Kohlmeyer, James III, 2005. "Organizational justice and turnover in public accounting firms: a research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 357-369, May.
    8. Viator, Ralph E. & Pasewark, William R., 2005. "Mentorship separation tension in the accounting profession: the consequences of delayed structural separation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 371-387, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nitzl, Christian, 2016. "The use of partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in management accounting research: Directions for future theory development," Journal of Accounting Literature, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 19-35.
    2. Donna Bobek & Amy Hageman & Robin Radtke, 2015. "The Influence of Roles and Organizational Fit on Accounting Professionals’ Perceptions of their Firms’ Ethical Environment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 125-141, January.
    3. Erland Hejn Nielsen & Steen Nielsen, 2020. "Preparing students for careers using business analytics and data-driven decision making," Economics Working Papers 2020-08, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    4. Pernilla Broberg & Torbjörn Tagesson & Timur Uman, 2020. "Antecedents of Psychological Well-Being among Swedish Audit Firm Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-12, May.
    5. Bicudo de Castro, Vincent, 2017. "Unpacking the notion of subjectivity: Performance evaluation and supervisor discretion," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 532-544.
    6. Diaz, Michelle Chandler & Loraas, Tina M. & Apostolou, Barbara, 2017. "How do mentoring rewards influence experienced auditors?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 594-607.
    7. Kennedy, Frances A. & Widener, Sally K., 2019. "Socialization mechanisms and goal congruence," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 32-49.
    8. Steven J. Johnson, 2013. "Toward a Useful Model for Group Mentoring in Public Accounting Firms," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 3(6), pages 1-7, June.
    9. Amondarain, Josune & Aldazabal, M. Edurne & Espinosa-Pike, Marcela, 2023. "Gender differences in the auditing stereotype and their influence on the intention to enter the profession," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    10. Ridhi Arora & Santosh Rangnekar, 2016. "Perceived Mentoring Relationships and Career Outcomes—Results from the Indian Power Sector," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 17(3_suppl), pages 133-146, June.
    11. Eileen Z. Taylor & Mary B. Curtis, 2018. "Mentoring: A Path to Prosocial Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 1133-1148, November.
    12. Lee, Lorraine & Petter, Stacie & Fayard, Dutch & Robinson, Shani, 2011. "On the use of partial least squares path modeling in accounting research," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 305-328.
    13. Daoust, Laurence & Malsch, Bertrand, 2019. "How ex-auditors remember their past: The transformation of audit experience into cultural memory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 1-1.
    14. Hall, Matthew, 2011. "Do comprehensive performance measurement systems help or hinder managers' mental model development?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 36703, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Fogarty, Timothy J. & Reinstein, Alan & Heath, Rebekah A. & Sinason, David H., 2017. "Why mentoring does not always reduce turnover: The intervening roles of value congruence, organizational knowledge and supervisory satisfaction," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 63-74.
    16. Single, Louise & Donald, Stephen & Almer, Elizabeth, 2018. "The relationship of advocacy and mentorship with female accountants' career success," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 12-21.
    17. Stefano Azzali & Tatiana Mazza, 2018. "The Internal Audit Effectiveness Evaluated with an Organizational, Process and Relationship Perspective," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(6), pages 238-238, April.
    18. Nouri, Hossein & Parker, Robert J., 2013. "Career growth opportunities and employee turnover intentions in public accounting firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 138-148.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hall, Matthew & Smith, David, 2009. "Mentoring and turnover intentions in public accounting firms: A research note," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(6-7), pages 695-704, August.
    2. Single, Louise & Donald, Stephen & Almer, Elizabeth, 2018. "The relationship of advocacy and mentorship with female accountants' career success," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 12-21.
    3. Nouri, Hossein & Parker, Robert J., 2013. "Career growth opportunities and employee turnover intentions in public accounting firms," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 138-148.
    4. Diaz, Michelle Chandler & Loraas, Tina M. & Apostolou, Barbara, 2017. "How do mentoring rewards influence experienced auditors?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 594-607.
    5. Cathleen L. Miller & Philip H. Siegel & Alan Reinstein, 2011. "Auditor and non-mentor supervisor relationships: Effects of mentoring and organizational justice," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 26(1), pages 5-31, January.
    6. Fogarty, Timothy J. & Reinstein, Alan & Heath, Rebekah A. & Sinason, David H., 2017. "Why mentoring does not always reduce turnover: The intervening roles of value congruence, organizational knowledge and supervisory satisfaction," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 63-74.
    7. Eileen Z. Taylor & Mary B. Curtis, 2018. "Mentoring: A Path to Prosocial Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 1133-1148, November.
    8. James T. Mackey & F. Johnny Deng, 2016. "Examining the Role of Management Control Systems in the Creation of an Innovative Culture," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(03), pages 1-27, June.
    9. Dierynck, Bart & Kadous, Kathryn & Peters, Christian P. H., 2024. "Learning in the auditing profession: A framework and future directions," Other publications TiSEM eb74c8e4-bc4a-4b71-b88a-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    10. Shalini Srivastava, 2016. "Mentoring and Psychological Empowerment: Relationship with Turnover Intentions of Managers: A Study on Private Sector Banks of Delhi-NCR Region," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 5(2), pages 145-156, December.
    11. Jinhwan Kim & Hyeob Kim & HyukJun Kwon, 2020. "The Impact of Employees’ Perceptions of Strategic Alignment on Sustainability: An Empirical Investigation of Korean Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, May.
    12. Viator, Ralph E. & Pasewark, William R., 2005. "Mentorship separation tension in the accounting profession: the consequences of delayed structural separation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 371-387, May.
    13. Sebastian Goebel & Barbara E. Weißenberger, 2017. "Effects of management control mechanisms: towards a more comprehensive analysis," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(2), pages 185-219, February.
    14. Herbohn, K., 2004. "Informal mentoring relationships and the career processes of public accountants," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 369-393.
    15. Lisa McManus & Nava Subramaniam, 2009. "Ethical evaluations and behavioural intentions of early career accountants: the impact of mentors, peers and individual attributes," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 49(3), pages 619-643, September.
    16. Weetman, Pauline, 2006. "Discovering the ‘international’ in accounting and finance," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 351-370.
    17. Abdel-Maksoud, Ahmed & Cheffi, Walid & Ghoudi, Kilani, 2016. "The mediating effect of shop-floor involvement on relations between advanced management accounting practices and operational non-financial performance indicators," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 169-184.
    18. Cäker, Mikael & Siverbo, Sven, 2018. "Effects of performance measurement system inconsistency on managers’ role clarity and well-being," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 256-266.
    19. Lisa-Marie Wibbeke & Maik Lachmann, 2020. "Psychology in management accounting and control research: an overview of the recent literature," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 275-328, September.
    20. Manuela Macinati & Marco Giovanni Rizzo, 2018. "Il ruolo di moderazione dell?identit? professionale medica nella relazione tra partecipazione al processo di budget e performance dei medici responsabili di struttura," MECOSAN, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2018(106), pages 11-36.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:28924. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.