Initial Task Engagement: Unlocking the Value of Fit and Non-Fit to Improve Audit Judgments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hong, Bright (Yue)
• 署名单位: DePaul University
• 刊物名称: ACCOUNTING REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4826
• DOI: 10.2308/TAR-2019-0607
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 327-356
• 关键词: regulatory fit; performance; FRAMEWORK; goals; focus; ACCOUNTABILITY; identification; experiences; incentives; prevention

摘要

Deficiencies identified in complex audit tasks suggest room for improvement in audit judgments. I propose that aligning an auditor's focus ( prevention/promotion) and mindset (concrete/abstract) in a compatible way can induce an experience of ``regulatory fit'' that improves judgments compared to ``regulatory non-fit.'' Results are more complex than previously thought. I find that fit versus non-fit improves judgments, but only for auditors who are initially less engaged in the judgment task. For auditors who are initially more engaged, non-fit versus fit improves judgments. A second experiment provides converging evidence. Prior research finds strong evidence that fit improves performance versus non-fit. The possibility that non-fit could improve performance has received little attention. By conceptualizing initial task engagement and identifying it as a key moderator, my study suggests that non-fit also has value, and that assessing auditor preexisting conditions before prescribing interventions is important for improving judgments.