The effects of communication mode and task ambiguity on the performance of auditor dyads: An experimental investigation

This study examines how communication mode and task ambiguity jointly affect auditor judgment performance in a dyadic setting using Media Synchronicity Theory (MST). Motivated in part by the limited evidence comparing video calls and chat in auditing contexts, we examine three communication modes—face-to-face (FTF), video calls, and chat—across low- and high-ambiguity internal control evaluation tasks. Using a controlled experiment, we find that auditor dyads outperform individuals, establishing interaction as a baseline condition for communication effects. Consistent with MST, we find a significant interaction between communication mode and task ambiguity: chat yields higher performance on low-ambiguity tasks, whereas face-to-face communication yields higher performance on high-ambiguity tasks. We do not detect statistically significant differences between video and face-to-face communication, although the modest sample size precludes conclusions regarding equivalence. These findings provide a contextual validation of MST in a structured auditing setting by demonstrating that the relative effectiveness of communication modes varies with task ambiguity. Overall, the results offer causal evidence on communication effectiveness in contemporary hybrid audit environments.