Dimensions of Competence in an Accounting Domain

Research in the area of competence suggests that familiarity with a domain affects decision making. We extend Heath and Tversky's (1991) competence hypothesis research by examining the following propositions: (1) competence increases the propensity to take credit for success and place blame for failure, and (2) professional accountants' feelings of competence can be altered, as measured by the propensity to take credit for success and place blame for failure, by calling attention to what others know relative to what they know. Participants in the experimental study were accountants with varying levels of tax experience. Results indicated that more competent participants took more credit for being right, and placed more blame externally for being wrong, than did less competent participants. Also, participants who were told about an applicable tax regulation that was not available during the experiment took more blame for being wrong, suggesting that competence is affected by features of the context in which professional tasks are performed.