The Effect of Diversity and the Mediating Role of Elaboration on Multidisciplinary Greenhouse Gas Assurance Team Effectiveness

Abstract

Greenhouse gas (GHG) assurance is increasingly used by companies as a means to increase stakeholder confidence in the quality of externally reported carbon emissions. The multidisciplinary nature of these engagements means that assurance is performed primarily by multidisciplinary teams. Prior research suggests the effectiveness of such teams could be affected by team composition and team processes. We employ a retrospective field study to examine the impact of educational diversity and team member elaboration on multidisciplinary GHG assurance team effectiveness. Results show that team processes such as sufficiency of elaboration on different team member perspectives significantly increases the perceived effectiveness of the teams. While educational diversity is not found to directly improve perceived team effectiveness, it is found to have a positive effect through increasing perceived sufficiency of elaboration. These findings have important implications for standard setters and audit firms undertaking GHG assurance engagements.

Research on extended external reporting assurance: Trends, themes, and opportunities

“…Ekasingh et al. (2019) examine the impact of team member elaboration on different information and perspectives and educational diversity on multidisciplinary GHG assurance team effectiveness. They document that team processes are significantly associated with the effectiveness of multidisciplinary GHG assurance teams.…”

“…Collectively, the evidence presented by Ekasingh et al. (2019) suggests that the benefits of elaborating on different information and perspectives outweigh the negative effects of diversity such as coordination and communication difficulties.…”

“…Our sample includes seven articles that use survey methods. 11 Two studies survey preparers (Darus et al, 2014;Green et al, 2017), two survey internal auditors (Soh & Martinov-Bennie, 2015, one surveys users (Romero et al, 2014), one surveys assurers (Ekasingh et al, 2019), and one surveys preparers, users, and assurers (Green & Taylor, 2013).…”

“…While there is no direct relationship between team diversity and multidisciplinary GHG team effectiveness, the level of educational diversity in the team is associated with sufficient elaboration of different information and perspectives. Collectively, the evidence presented by Ekasingh et al (2019) suggests that the benefits of elaborating on different information and perspectives outweigh the negative effects of diversity such as coordination and communication difficulties.…”

“…11 11 Ekasingh, Simnett, and Green (2019) is technically not a survey, but a retrospective field study. We include it in the survey category because of the similarities between the methods.…”