The effects of a supportive learning culture and rank on professional skepticism in information search
研究发现，审计人员的职业怀疑态度并非随职级均匀发展，而是依赖于感知到的支持性学习文化，且这种文化仅对经理和合伙人的怀疑性信息搜索有正向影响，对初级员工则无显著作用。
Auditors at all ranks should be skeptical when searching for information throughout audits. However, we lever domain learning theory from educational psychology to posit that their skepticism unlikely develops evenly across ranks, but rather depends on a supportive learning culture, a construct from the management literature. To test that perceived learning culture moderates the association between auditor rank and skeptical information search, we use a laboratory study with 166 Dutch auditors at a Big 4 firm and follow-up interviews with seven top leaders of that firm. A more supportive perceived learning culture is associated with more skeptical information search, but only in audit managers and partners - not in associates and seniors. Interviewees attribute this pattern to values acquired over time through socialization, role expectations, knowledge development, and wider task characteristics.