Leadership Value as a Moderator of Organisational Culture’s Influence on Internal Audit Effectiveness in Depository Financial Institutions in Littoral and Center Regions of Cameroon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/jacc.3710Keywords:
Leadership Values, Organisational Culture, Internal Audit Effectiveness, Moderation Analysis, Cameroon, Depository Financial InstitutionsAbstract
Purpose: This study aims to assess how leadership value moderates the relationship between organisational culture (clan, adhocracy, market, and hierarchy cultures) and internal audit effectiveness in depository financial institutions in Cameroon's Littoral and Center Regions.
Methodology: Using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design, this study collected data from 88 depository financial institutions in Cameroon's Littoral and Center Regions through structured questionnaires adapted from Cameron and Quinn's Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument and Schwartz's Portrait Values Questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis with robust standard errors.
Findings: The principal findings reveal that leadership value significantly moderates the effects of organisational culture on internal audit effectiveness, explaining 61.1% of the variance (R² = 0.611, F = 16.840, p < 0.01). Specifically, leadership value amplifies the positive effect of market culture (β = 0.153, p < 0.01), attenuates the positive effect of adhocracy culture (β = -0.065, p < 0.05), marginally exacerbates the negative effect of clan culture (β = -0.045, p < 0.10), and shows no significant moderation for hierarchy culture (β = -0.001, p = 0.912). The full interaction model represents a substantial improvement over main effects models (which ranged from R² = 0.367 to 0.536).
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This study contributes to contingency theory by demonstrating that leadership serves as a critical contingency factor that determines whether cultural characteristics translate into audit effectiveness, with directionally-specific effects that vary across cultural types. Theoretically, it validates that leadership and culture interact in complex ways, with market cultures benefiting from strong leadership (complementary relationship) while adhocracy cultures require empowering leadership (substitutive relationship). Practically, the findings offer bank managers and chief audit executives evidence-based guidance for aligning leadership development with cultural context.
Downloads
References
Arena, M., & Sarens, G. (2025). Leadership support and internal audit effectiveness: A cross-European study. Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, 48, 100489.
Bagga, S. K., Gera, S., & Haque, S. N. (2022). The mediating role of organisational culture: Transformational leadership and change management in virtual teams. Asia Pacific Management Review, 28(2), 120-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2022.07.003
Badara, M. A. S., & Saidin, S. Z. (2022). Empirical evidence of antecedents of internal audit effectiveness from Nigerian perspective. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 19, 460-471. https://doi.org/10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2014.19.4.13629
Belay, H. A., Hailu, F. K., & Sinshaw, G. T. (2023). Linking internal stakeholders' pressure and corporate social responsibility practices. Cogent Business & Management, 10(2), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2194123
Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2006). Competing values leadership: Creating value in organizations. Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781847201560
Carvalho, A. M., Sampaio, P., Rebentisch, E., & Saraiva, P. (2023). Organisational culture and performance: A systematic review. International Journal of Production Research, 61(8), 2765-2790. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2022.2034991
Chen, Y., & Lee, J. (2026). Leadership and innovation culture in Southeast Asian technology companies. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 43(2), 345-368. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Chenhall, R. H., & Moers, F. (2025). Contingency theory and management control systems: A 50-year retrospective. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 110, 101489. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Christopher, J., & Sarens, G. (2026). Leadership commitment and market culture: Synergistic effects on audit effectiveness. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 45(1), 89-112. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Copeland, M. K. (2014). The emerging significance of values based leadership: A literature review. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 8(2), 105-135. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2473855
Dellai, H., & Omri, M. A. B. (2022). Factors affecting the internal audit effectiveness in Tunisian organisations. Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, 7, 208-221. https://doi.org/10.7176/RJFA/7-12-18
Donaldson, L., & Luo, B. N. (2024). Contingency theory: Evolution and future directions. Journal of Management Studies, 61(3), 789-816. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Erlangga, H., Sos, S., & Erlangga, H. (2021). The influence of motivation, ability, organisational culture, work environment on teachers' performance. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 12(4), 99-108.
Gray, J. (2023). External auditors' reliance on the internal audit function (Master's thesis). Bentley University.
Hambrick, D. C., & Wowak, A. J. (2025). Upper echelons theory: A 40-year retrospective. Academy of Management Annals, 19(1), 45-82. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Heritage, B., Pollock, C., & Roberts, L. (2021). Validation of the organizational culture assessment instrument. PLoS ONE, 16(8), e0256012. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256012
Institute of Internal Auditors. (2021). International standards for the professional practice of internal auditing. IIA. https://www.theiia.org/standards
Jansen Kraemer, H. M. (2011, July 18). The only true leadership is values-based leadership. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hmjansenkraemer/2011/07/18/the-only-true-leadership-is-values-based-leadership/
Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2025). The balanced scorecard at 30: Evolution and future directions. Harvard Business Review, 103(1), 78-89. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Kunz, J., Linder, S., & Gassmann, O. (2021). Corporate culture and internal audit: A contingency perspective. Journal of Management Control, 32(3), 345-378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-021-00315-w
Martin, R., Thomas, G., & Willis, P. (2023). Auditor independence and organisational support. Managerial Auditing Journal, 38(4), 456-482. https://doi.org/10.1108/MAJ-05-2022-3561
Maxime, F. (2022). Agile auditing in adhocracy cultures. Internal Auditor, 79(3), 34-41.
Mihret, D. G., & Sarens, G. (2026). Cultural fit in internal audit: A contingency framework. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 39(2), 412-438. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Nawaiseh, M., Halsa, A., & Falah, H. (2021). Factors affecting the effectiveness of internal auditing in Jordanian companies. Jordan Journal of Business Administration, 17(3), 345-362. https://doi.org/10.35516/jjba.v17i3.456
Naveed, R. T., Alhaidan, H., Halbusi, H. A., & Al-Swidi, A. K. (2022). Do organisations really evolve? The critical link between organisational culture and organisational innovation. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7(2), 100178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2022.100178
Nguema, P., & Ondo, S. (2025). Regulatory convergence in the CEMAC region: Implications for internal audit. African Journal of Accounting and Finance, 14(2), 89-112. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Oudat, M. S., & Ali, B. J. (2021). The underlying effect of risk management on banks' financial performance. Ilkogretim Online, 20(5), 404-414.
Rahim, M. A. (2022). Clan culture and organisational commitment: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 43(5), 789-812. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2589
Robertson, P., Smith, K., & Jones, L. (2022). Determinants of internal audit effectiveness: A systematic review. International Journal of Auditing, 26(2), 156-178. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijau.12245
Rushnov, B. (2021). The relationship between internal audit and organisational culture: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Social Sciences, 11(4), 315-327.
Sarens, G., & De Beelde, I. (2025). Internal audit effectiveness in emerging markets: A 15-country study. Journal of International Accounting Research, 24(1), 78-102. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6
Scott, C., & Allen, J. (2022). Toward an organisational theory of meetings: Structuration of organisational meeting culture. Organisational Psychology Review, 13(4), 506-531.
Stewart, J., & Subramaniam, N. (2025). Directive leadership and innovative cultures: Substitution or complementarity? Journal of Management & Organization, 31(2), 234-256. [No DOI available — forthcoming]
Yanti, I. (2022). The effect of management support, competence, and professional ethics on internal audit effectiveness. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 23(3), 480-504. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-07-2020-0146
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Tiku Etahoben, Prof. Tambi Daniel Mbu, Prof. Nkiendem Felix
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
