Exploring the Mediating Role of Willingness to Continue in AI-based Data Analytics Adoption in Audit Firms

This study questions the role of willingness to continue collecting additional evidence in the relationship between technological factors and AI-based data analytics adoption in audit firms. Using snowball sampling, 213 valid responses were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). In the context of the TOE framework, the results showed that the willingness to continue collecting more evidence was a key link between the technological factors and the adoption of AI-based data analytics. Willingness to continue collecting additional evidence partially mediated the impacts of clients' AIS complexity, technology integration, and compatibility on AI-based data analytics adoption. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated the impact of a willingness to continue gathering additional evidence on the adoption of AI-based data analytics. The results contribute to the TOE framework by questioning the concept of intention as a mediating variable among the TOE components as a result of the successful use of the willingness to continue collecting additional evidence as a proxy for intention. The "willingness to continue" variable should be used as a stand-in for "intention" in the framework for future research. This is especially important because "intention" is something that should be at the level of individuals, not firms.