Accountability dilemmas and identity struggles

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to add to our understanding of how external factors such as funding and external accountabilities affect the organisational inner workings, especially identity issues. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a comparative case study of two professional chamber orchestras, one in Sweden and one in the UK. The two orchestras had significantly different funding conditions and had different relations with funders and were thus exposed to different kinds of accountability dilemmas. The two organisations were studied using and ethnographically inspired approach. The developments of various parts of the organisations were studied, such as funding, management, strategy, management control and identity issues. Findings The paper illustrates how the solution to accountability dilemmas in an organisation can, over time, result in the protection or the dilution of a perceived organisational core and thus in an identity struggle. Especially, management has to deal with the balance between financial and operational accountability, where organisational members could perceive the decisions to be confirming or rejecting what they perceived as being the higher purpose of their work. Practical implications This paper may help managers become more aware of the long ranging consequences of managerial decisions and how such decisions may affect the identity orientation of organisational members. Originality/value The paper combines the concept of identity with the concept of accountability, something that has not been done to a large extent in previous research.

Responding to funding scarcity: governance challenges in Swedish and South African development partnerships

“…The same resistance inevitably became part of the reason for the resignation of two Fundraisers. As noted elsewhere, there may well be tensions between asserting identities on the one hand and maintaining organizational accountability on the other (Stockenstrand, 2019). Because WF needed new funding for its survival, it realized as an organization that there is no such thing as "unconditional love".…”

“…Many nonprofits rely on government funds for their existence (Froelich, 1999) as they have traditionally had no alternative income sources. The implementation of the new aid framework makes development practitioners tied to such requirements and increasing demands for effectiveness and accountability (Stockenstrand, 2019), putting harsh and competing demands on them. While all donors are supposed to reconcile their efforts with each other and align themselves with the priorities of partner countries, results-based management entails not only a focus on continuously measuring and reporting results but also stringent prioritizations on behalf of donor governments (Sjöstedt, 2013).…”

We are what we tell: an enquiry into NGOs' organizational identity and accountability

“…In mature organizations, the moulding of organizational identity generally lies in the hands of senior managers that are formally equipped with more (definitional) powers (Stockenstrand, 2019;Chenhall et al, 2016). Identity accountability is among their prerogatives and other organizational members have usually a limited voice in this process.…”

“…Stakeholders' identity narratives can thus threaten internally authored organizational identity and members' identification processes (Stockenstrand, 2019).…”

Comparative analysis of online accountability practices in three sectors: private, public and nonprofit

“…Future research may add to our understanding of online accountability in three sectors by conducting qualitative interviews with stakeholders to further determine how online accountability fits within larger accountability efforts. For example, this study does not address internal accountabilityaccountability that is directed inwards, toward organizational members and their professional values (Stockenstrand, 2019) and further research focusing on internal accountability in online space is needed.…”