Building relationships through accountability: An expanded idea of accountability

Abstract

Previous literature has focused on how external forces impose accountability on individuals (i.e., holding individuals to account), but has not considered the possibility of internal, personal accountability. We explain how an internalized sense of accountability, which we term internally assumed accountability, can enrich our understanding of why some organizational members might assume ownership for organizational problems, even ones that they did not actually cause. We offer a typology of accountability in organizations based on contrasting relationship norms and personal orientations. Our article concludes with a discussion on connections between different kinds of accountability and stakeholder relationships, suggesting a number of avenues for further investigation and practice.

Transparency and community trust in village government: Does corruption perception matter?

“…In addition, these results also extend the study by Wang et al. (2019) by providing empirical evidence regarding the relationship of trust with the practice of transparency in society with communal norms. The results of this study indicate that rural communities have used transparency practices as a reference to determine their trust in village government, as is the case in the city governments where cultural exchange norms are stronger.…”

“…It is in line with what Wang et al. (2019) suggested that cultural aspects such as communal norms that apply in villages and exchange norms in cities may influence how the community responds to the governance practices of a government. While exchange norms focus on reciprocity, communal norms involve responding to people's needs without expecting specific returns or contingent on immediate reciprocity (Clark & Mills, 1979).…”

“…In the village, maintaining the harmony of others is the main goal rather than being individualistic. Wang et al (2019) also emphasized that communities in the city (with exchange norms) that are actually higher in terms of education have high demands on the government and reciprocity concerns. As such, they will ask for high-level accountability and responsiveness (Wang et al, 2019).…”

“…Besides, the role of good governance in public trust at the village government level as a study setting gets more limited attention than other government levels. Concerning this, societal norm aspects such as communal norms in rural communities and exchange norms in cities may have different impacts on accountability practices and their relationship to community trust (Wang et al., 2019). Taking from this insight, a similar view may also apply in the context of transparency.…”

Internal, Moral, and Market Accountability: Leading Urban Schools During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Researchers have measured teachers’ feelings of accountability by examining responses to survey items such as, “our school is focused on improving performance on measures of student achievement for this year,” “helping students reach mastery for important skills and content is a priority for this school,” and “meeting targets for student progress is a priority in this school” ( Higgins et al, 2020 ; Weiner & Higgins, 2017 ). Research establishes that leaders in organizations with strong internal accountability facilitate it via building relationships and communal norms as well as rewarding attempts to try new ideas and practices ( Wang et al, 2019 ). In schools, such efforts and corresponding higher levels of internal accountability are shown to strengthen teacher capacity to improve instruction and thus respond to external accountability measures and/or internally determined measures of success ( Abelmann et al, 1999 ; Higgins et al, 2020 ; Weiner & Higgins, 2017 ).…”