Coping With Changing Skill Requirements: Does Disaffirmation Versus Affirmation Affect Auditors' Reliance on AI ‐Supported Advice From Specialists?
研究发现，感到数字技能不足的审计师会贬低依赖AI的专家建议，但肯定其传统审计技能可缓解这种防御反应，为审计机构促进理性决策提供启示。
ABSTRACT The digital evolution in auditing has triggered a rapid shift in auditors' required skill sets, with audit firms heavily investing in and extolling advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. However, this strong emphasis on newly required digital skills can lead many experienced auditors, who perceive these competencies as their weaker areas, to feel disaffirmed in their abilities. We predict and find, across two experiments, that auditors who feel disaffirmed in their digital skills more defensively discount specialist advice that places higher versus lower reliance on AI, but that an intervention in which auditors affirm their traditional audit skills mitigates this defensive reaction. Absent self‐affirmation, higher specialist reliance on AI results in auditors denigrating the competence and quality of advice that specialists provide. These findings suggest that disaffirmation escalates AI aversion, offering important insights into how audit firms can foster less defensive decision‐making in the rapidly evolving audit environment.