Self-efficacy and Tax Research Performance

This study investigates the influence of tax research self-efficacy on tax research performance for a group of novice tax accountants. Tax research self-efficacy is a judgment of one's ability to perform the specific tasks necessary to solve tax problems. Theory predicts that self-efficacy will be positively associated with task performance and people's ability to cope with task difficulty. We tested this notion using a computer-based experimental approach to determine if novices with different levels of tax research self-efficacy perform differently when conducting a series of tax research tasks under difficult conditions. Our results, after controlling for certain performance-influencing factors, indicate that tax research self-efficacy is a significant predictor of tax research performance for novice tax accountants. This finding provides evidence of the construct validity of the tax research self-efficacy scale developed by Schmidt and Karsten (2000) and adds to our understanding of the factors that influence tax research performance.