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This paper aims to examine the association between audit quality threatening behaviour (AQTB) and three team equality dimensions: deindividuation, social identity and gender equality. Discrimination among auditors has been experienced in accounting firms across the world, which can lead to behaviour that risks the quality of work. The negative influence of this behaviour can have consequences for clients, audit firms, regulators and the wider society due to the threat on audit quality.

A questionnaire was conducted at a Big 4 audit firm in Sweden. Members of audit teams that worked together on one specific engagement were asked to give their perceptions of their experience of equality and behaviours within the team. Hypotheses were tested using ordered logistic regression and partial least squares structural equation model.

Audit teams that experience deindividuation conduct more AQTBs and audit teams with higher social identity conduct less AQTBs. However, the audit team’s social identity can moderate the audit teams’ experience with deindividuation and reduce AQTB.

With a unique data set of practising audit teams, this study is the first to investigate how audit team equality is related to AQTB. Contributions are made to practitioners about audit team dynamics since the AQTB occurs as part of the audit decision-making process that influences audit quality. Inequality also has recruitment and reputation consequences. Thus, contributions are made to the audit market that is interested in audit quality. The study also contributes empirical evidence from an audit team context about behavioural outcomes and the social identity and deindividuation model theory (Klein et al., 2007; Reicher et al., 1995).

The purpose of this paper is to integrate psychological dimension, social dimension, and environmental dimension – six internet psychological characteristics (dissociative anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination, and minimization of status and authority), deindividuation, social influence (subjective norm and descriptive norm), and containment theory (inner containment and outer containment) – to propose an innovative model which can make up for deficiencies in previous studies of the toxic online disinhibition effect.

On the basis of 530 valid responses collected from an online survey questionnaire, partial least squares technology was used to examine the research model.

The result shows that dissociative anonymity has a significant impact on deindividuation and toxic disinhibition. In addition, asynchronicity and dissociative imagination have a direct effect on toxic disinhibition. Besides, in social influence, the authors found that subjective norm is a stronger predictor of toxic disinhibition than descriptive norm. Moreover, in containment theory, the result shows that inner containment can effectively reduce toxic disinhibition but not outer containment.

This study can provide academics and practical side empirical evidence as to what factor would cause toxic disinhibition and provides an innovative view regarding the relationship between social influence and containment theory on toxic disinhibition.

This paper aims to describe an integration of the media naturalness theory, the continuum model of impression formation and the social identity model of deindividuation effects. The goal is to determine the compatibility of the central tenets and propositions of the two theories and reconcile their effects under a unified model that can be used to explain and predict changes in perceptions, attitudes and behaviors arising in computer-mediated interaction.

A review of the literature was used to determine whether the two theories were compatible. The reconciliation comes by way of a third theory, the motivated tactician theory, which focuses on the effects of cognitive effort on schema use, particularly on those schemas used in social categorization processes.

It was determined that the two models of focus could be combined via the tenets of the third. The combined model is expected to provide explanatory and predictive capabilities that exceed those of the individual theories and should prove to be relevant in the study of computed-supported collaboration, in the design of collaborative environments and in the analysis of individual and group behaviors in computer-mediated communication.

The current effort describes the main effects derived from the integration and offers four propositions that describe moderating factors that are derived from each of the three theories. The main effects must be tested and validated and, given support, must be extended to determine the validity of the moderating effects predicted by the propositions. Additionally, media naturalness theory is a relatively recent addition to theories of technology and so needs further empirical support for its propositions. As to the behavioral implications, the social identity model of deindividuation effects has yet to be tested with the specific intention of discovering how media characteristics affect self-concept.

The model can be used to inform information system designs that favor desirable behavioral outcomes or to prevent undesirable effects from occurring. For example, emphasis can place on media attributes and system features that individuate decision-makers within group decision support environments when consensus is a primary goal as a means to avoid group thinks and polarization. Conversely, attributes and features that are supportive of social categorization processes and deindividuation effects might be used to emphasize group membership, shared effort and to minimize social loafing or the frequency and intensity of inappropriate disparagement of ideas and contributions.

The combined model is principally useful in explaining and predicting human behavior in relation to computer-supported collaborative work such as distributed workgroups and online learning environments. For example, the explanatory elements of the combined theory can be used by managers as a diagnostic tool in problem situations within virtual teams. A specific instance would be to determine why a change to existing systems created a change in work habits. In a more proactive move, managers might use the predicted social categorization effects and subsequent depersonalization, to instill a group identity in an otherwise diverse workgroup.

The combined model is expected to provide explanatory and predictive capabilities that exceed those of the individual theories and should prove to be relevant in the study of computed-supported collaboration, in the design of collaborative environments and in the analysis of individual and group behaviors in computer-mediated communication.

Virtual forms of organizing are increasing in today's organizations, with virtual teams being one of the most popular ways to bring distributed individuals together to work on tasks and make decisions. However, theory suggests that the factors that drive unethical behaviors in teams – such as deindividuated communication and impeded identification – are the same factors that characterize interaction in virtual teams. This suggests that virtual interaction may make teams particularly vulnerable to unethical behaviors such as opportunism and deception. This chapter maps out a theoretical model to better understand when unethical behaviors are likely to occur in virtual teams, and what virtual team characteristics might help to mitigate the likelihood of such behaviors.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Internet's paradoxical nature from the perspective of consumers.

First, it is discussed that negotiations between companies and consumers about their respective shares of power lead to different models of consumer power. Second, the paradoxical effects of technology on social relations and an individual's sense of identity and responsibility are discussed. These changes have altered not only consumer behaviour but also the relationship between producers and customers, in the sense that power shifts to consumers. The case of the international music industry is used as an example. This case embodies many of the studied aspects of the paradox concept and proves useful in the development of implications for companies and their strategies.

The paper finds that while negotiations between companies and consumers about their share of power lead to different models of consumer power, the effects of technology on social relations and individuals' sense of identity and responsibility lead to changes in consumption behaviour.

The paper identifies how business practices have changed in response to the changes in intellectual property matters and the power constellations between companies and consumers. The theoretical models presented in this paper represent different positions that companies and consumers can take and are helpful in explaining the current power struggles, such as file sharing activities, which on a more individual level also correspond to paradoxical effects of the Internet (social relations, deindividuation effects).

This paper takes a fresh look at the Internet's paradoxical nature from a consumer point of view. It is argued that some of the Internet's paradoxical effects stem from socio‐political and socio‐cultural changes, for example, a power shift from companies to consumers, and normative and anti‐normative behaviours.

This study aims to investigate the conceptual structure of fast fashion avoidance among young consumers in Korea. The effects of negative beliefs on the behavioural intention regarding fast fashion avoidance are empirically examined.

A conceptual model of fast fashion avoidance is proposed and tested based on the literature and blog analyses. Web‐based online survey data are analyzed by second‐order factor analysis and hierarchical regression.

The second‐order structure of eight negative beliefs is statistically supported. Among these negative beliefs, poor performance and deindividuation have positive effects on fast fashion avoidance. While inauthenticity has a negative effect, big store discomfort and foreignness have an interaction effect with regards to the lack of alternatives.

The results are based on convenient sampling of young female adults. However, it is tested in Korea, of which global fast fashion retailing is in its growing stage.

This study represents a new attempt to apply the concept of brand avoidance to an explanation of fast fashion avoidance, and test it using empirically‐collected survey data.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the threshold effect of group size on customer's complaining intention under group service failures.

Based on two main laboratory experiments, through two 10×2 scenario simulation experiments, the authors examine the role of group size in customer's complaining intention.

Results show that: (1) the relationship between group size and customer's complaining intention follows an inverted “U” type trend; (2) evaluation apprehension mediates the relationship between group size and customer's complaining intention; (3) relational distance can change threshold values and (4) relational distance moderates the relationship between group size and customer's complaining intention.

Managers should judge the threshold of group size through experience so as to have a preliminary understanding of customer evaluation concerns and complaint intention. In the face of service failure groups smaller than the threshold range, managers should divided the group into several small groups. For service failure groups larger than the threshold range, the opinion leaders in the group should be given more attention, so as to control the whole group.

This paper is helpful to deeply understand the key role of group size in the process of customer complaints, and also provides decision-making basis for service enterprises to deal with group customer complaints.

There has been little research about the threshold effect of group size on customer's complaining intention. The previous studies on customer's complaining intention focus on its influences on group size, and draw a single common conclusion that the customer's intention to complain will increase with the growing number of groups increases. However, few studies are explored on the threshold of group size. Therefore, this paper will focus on the threshold effect of group size on customer's complaining intention to fill the gap.

This study tested predictions derived from social psychological theorising on the deindividuation phenomenon concerning the effects of working alone or collectively on the quality of outcomes of police patrolling activity. Police officers (n = 1,118) reported the resistance experienced when they last carried out each of 12 patrol activities. Officer age, gender, rank and experience did not predict resistance experienced. Increased resistance was associated with the more active afternoon and night shifts, the presence of larger numbers of civilians, and the two (cf. one) officer patrol mode. Although the resistance experienced by officers working collectively in part reflected the influence of work shift on patrol mode, there were substantial proportions of variance in resistance for most patrol activities that could not be explained by the shift variable. The influence of collective patrolling on resistance was consistent with theorising about the origins of deindividuated behaviour, and highlighted the importance of broad conceptualisations of organisational effectiveness when evaluating individual and collective functioning.

This paper aims to assert that teams are a technology used to achieve task goals or social objectives that cannot be accomplished by individuals alone. Much current work in organizations is knowledge based, so it is important to know when to apply teams as a technology and how teams can be effectively utilized for cognitive task performance. This paper describes a number of strengths, weaknesses and trade-offs that accompany teams performing cognitive tasks.

Research comparing team performance to that of similarly treated individuals indicates that teams on average exceed the performance of individuals on cognitive tasks; however, teams rarely match the performance of their best member.

Based on analysis of this research, a set of strengths of teams are highlighted: information pooling, error correction, meta-knowledge, reliability and information sharing. Two weaknesses of team performance on cognitive tasks are also identified: slow to action and coordination losses. As a function of teams having these strengths and weaknesses, trade-offs in their task performance emerge: speed versus accuracy, convergence versus divergence, participation versus deindividuation, losses versus gains in motivation, social facilitation versus inhibition, accumulation versus coordination, focused versus distributed attention and accentuation versus attenuation of biases.

These trade-offs demonstrate that teams operate in specific ways that sometimes benefit cognitive processing but will be hindered under other conditions. An understanding of those conditions is important when attempting to effectively use teams. So, “technical” knowledge rather than intuition is required to manage these processes appropriately and effectively.