An Exploration of How Motivations and Perceived Ability Influence an Advisor's Willingness to Give Advice

Abstract

Decision-makers frequently rely on advice from advisors, yet little is known about the factors influencing advisors' willingness to give advice (WTGA). This paper explores WTGA through three studies, investigating its relationship to advice quality, an advisor's motivations, and abilities. Our findings show that advisors frequently demonstrate a willingness to give advice even when their solution to the specific problem is incorrect, resulting in the dissemination of poor-quality advice. We find that both the helping and influence motives predict WTGA, with the helping motivation playing a more dominant role. Finally, we find that WTGA varies significantly as a function of advisors' perceptions of their ability to solve advice problems but is not consistently linked to their actual ability in the domain. This research highlights the importance of understanding the motivations and abilities of advisors in order to improve the quality of advice, with implications for decision-makers who rely on such guidance.