Formal and Informal Accountabilities and Accountability Management: Impact on Work Performance

• Published date: 01 May 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231165261
• Author: Kwangseon Hwang
• Date: 01 May 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997231165261

Administration & Society

2023, Vol. 55(5) 953 –981

© The Author(s) 2023

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DOI: 10.1177/00953997231165261

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Article

Formal and Informal

Accountabilities

and Accountability

Management: Impact on

Work Performance

Kwangseon Hwang1

Abstract

This study empirically examines the relationship between several

accountability aspects and perceived work performance in the specific

context of child-welfare services in the State of Virginia. The results show

mixed evidence. For example, legal and ethical accountabilities positively affect

performance, but each type of accountability (formal and informal) influences

the work performance of child-welfare caseworkers differently—directly or

indirectly—through a compliance strategy. Hierarchical accountability and

the adoption of a discretionary strategy do not affect performance, at least in

this context. Accountability management appears to play a meaningful role as

a mediator within the accountability-performance link.

Keywords

accountability, performance, accountability management, mediation, child-

welfare caseworkers

1Gachon University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea

Corresponding Author:

Kwangseon Hwang, Gachon University, 1342 Seongnamdaero, Seongnam 13120, Republic of

Korea.

Email: kwangseonhwang@gmail.com

1165261AAS0010.1177/00953997231165261Administration & SocietyHwang

research-article2023

954 Administration & Society 55(5)

Introduction

Various studies in the public domain have assumed that accountability posi-

tively influences work performance. However, few studies have explored this

assumed relationship in research on public administration (e.g., Han & Hong,

2019; Kim & Lee, 2010), particularly at the street level (e.g., Ali & Nicholson-

Crotty, 2021). Managing accountability is being widely discussed, but its

influence on performance has been little researched in public settings. The

existing literature has abstractly argued that multiple accountability require-

ments may not hinder organizational effectiveness, as long as public employ-

ees can effectively manage and address them. There has been little development

of knowledge on whether and how managing them really matters, except for

“coping” literature (Hwang & Han, 2017; van Loon & Jakobsen, 2018). The

current study fills this research gap.

As many scholars have noted, accountability as an independent variable is

an important area of research linked to good governance and work perfor-

mance (Lynn et al., 2000, 2001). However, we obtained a fairly mixed result

for the Accountability → Performance (A → P) link. Traditionally, bureau-

cratic values or hierarchical approaches play a role in determining how

bureaucrats implement policies (Lipsky, 2010; Maynard-Moody & Musheno,

2003); however, caseworkers trained as social workers are likely to respond

more positively to accountability expectations that flow out of their training

and sense of professional norms (Paddock, 2003). Informal accountability is

increasingly being understood as an important accountability mechanism in

street-level bureaucracy (Romzek et al., 2012). Accordingly, this study

attempts to shed light on the role of formal and informal accountabilities and

aims to provide empirical evidence on whether informal accountability is

more important than formal accountability. Perceiving and experiencing

identical accountability settings in conspicuous diverging ways yields mis-

matches between formal and informal accountabilities. Drawing on the para-

dox or web of accountability in practice (Jos & Tompkins, 2004) and the

prescriptive argument of balancing competing accountability requirements

(Kim, 2005), a hitherto unexplored question in the literature needs to be

examined further: Which dimension of accountability can be emphasized for

better performance? This study also pays attention to how the effects of

accountability on performance work through accountability management.

This study examines the roles of formal and informal accountabilities and

accountability management in improving work performance in the context

of child-welfare services in the State of Virginia. It aims to illuminate some

of the challenges and complexities inherent in performance management.

Child welfare covers a spectrum of services, including the identification and