IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/bracre/v56y2024i5s0890838923000409.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Actors constructing accountability in hybrid organisations: The case of a Swedish municipal corporation

Author

Listed:
  • Maine, Joshua
  • Uman, Timur
  • Florin-Samuelsson, Emilia

Abstract

Coping with accountability challenges is an essential part of how actors in hybrid organisations make sense of their responsibility to distinctive groups of stakeholders. Drawing on institutional theory and a logics perspective, we explore how the strategic apex in a Swedish municipal housing corporation constructs accountability in relation to the tensions that arise therein. Our case study highlights that the strategic apex deals with the challenges associated with multiple accountability logics via the process of evoking the principals. Given the invisibility of the legal owner, the strategic apex evokes the principal(s) through the additional processes of negotiating resource allocation, compromising and interest alignment, and creating team structures. Our findings contribute to the emergent literature on how hybrid organisations construct accountability and manage related challenges. Furthermore, our analysis of how individual actors and teams deal with the tension between individual and collective actions in the accountability domain advances current knowledge of the processes through which these actors cope with accountability challenges in hybrid organisations.

Suggested Citation

  • Maine, Joshua & Uman, Timur & Florin-Samuelsson, Emilia, 2024. "Actors constructing accountability in hybrid organisations: The case of a Swedish municipal corporation," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:56:y:2024:i:5:s0890838923000409
    DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2023.101207
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890838923000409
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.bar.2023.101207?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christina Berg Johansen & Susanne Boch Waldorff, 2017. "What are institutional logics – and where is the perspective taking us?," Chapters, in: Georg Krücken & Carmelo Mazza & Renate E. Meyer & Peter Walgenbach (ed.), New Themes in Institutional Analysis, chapter 3, pages 51-76, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Andreas Bergh & Gissur Ó Erlingsson & Emanuel Wittberg, 2022. "What happens when municipalities run corporations? Empirical evidence from 290 Swedish municipalities," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(4), pages 704-727, July.
    3. Paolo Ferri & Shannon I.L. Sidaway & Garry D. Carnegie, 2021. "The paradox of accounting for cultural heritage: a longitudinal study on the financial reporting of heritage assets of major Australian public cultural institutions (1992–2019)," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(4), pages 983-1012, January.
    4. Giuseppe Grossi & Christoph Reichard, 2008. "Municipal corporatization in Germany and Italy," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(5), pages 597-617, September.
    5. Tomi Rajala & Petra Kokko, 2021. "Biased by design – the case of horizontal accountability in a hybrid organization," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(3), pages 830-862, March.
    6. Linus Axén & Torbjörn Tagesson & Denis Shcherbinin & Azra Custovic & Anna Ojdanic, 2019. "Does municipal ownership affect audit fees?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(3), pages 693-713, September.
    7. Giuseppe Grossi & Anna Thomasson, 2011. "Jointly owned companies as instruments of local government: comparative evidence from the Swedish and Italian water sectors," Policy Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 277-289.
    8. Roberts, John & Scapens, Robert, 1985. "Accounting systems and systems of accountability -- understanding accounting practices in their organisational contexts," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 443-456, October.
    9. Istemi Demirag & Iqbal Khadaroo, 2011. "Accountability and value for money: a theoretical framework for the relationship in public–private partnerships," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 15(2), pages 271-296, May.
    10. Giuseppe Grossi & Jarmo Vakkuri & Massimo Sargiacomo, 2021. "Accounting, performance and accountability challenges in hybrid organisations: a value creation perspective," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(3), pages 577-597, December.
    11. Diego Ponte & Caterina Pesci & Pier Franco Camussone, 2017. "Between mission and revenue: measuring performance in a hybrid organization," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(2), pages 196-214, February.
    12. Sinclair, Amanda, 1995. "The chameleon of accountability: Forms and discourses," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(2-3), pages 219-237.
    13. Berry, A.J. & Coad, A.F. & Harris, E.P. & Otley, D.T. & Stringer, C., 2009. "Emerging themes in management control: A review of recent literature," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 2-20.
    14. repec:eme:maj000:maj-11-2015-1276 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Shaoul, Jean & Stafford, Anne & Stapleton, Pamela, 2012. "Accountability and corporate governance of public private partnerships," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 213-229.
    16. Scapens, Robert W., 1992. "The role of case study methods in management accounting research: A personal reflection and reply," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 369-383.
    17. Dillard, Jesse & Vinnari, Eija, 2019. "Critical dialogical accountability: From accounting-based accountability to accountability-based accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 16-38.
    18. Lisa Baudot & Jesse Dillard & Nadra Pencle, 2020. "Hybrid organizations and an ethic of accountability: the role of accountability systems in constructing responsible hybridity," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(3), pages 598-626, October.
    19. Niamh M. Brennan & Jill Solomon, 2008. "Corporate governance, accountability and mechanisms of accountability: an overview," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(7), pages 885-906, September.
    20. Ghio, Alessandro & Verona, Roberto, 2022. "Unfolding institutional plurality in hybrid organizations through practices: The case of a cooperative bank," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(4).
    21. Christopher Humphrey & Brendan O’Dwyer & Jeffrey Unerman, 2017. "Re-theorizing the configuration of organizational fields: the IIRC and the pursuit of ‘Enlightened’ corporate reporting," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 30-63, January.
    22. Ebrahim, Alnoor, 2003. "Accountability In Practice: Mechanisms for NGOs," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 813-829, May.
    23. Rana, Tarek & Hoque, Zahirul, 2020. "Institutionalising multiple accountability logics in public services: Insights from Australia," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(4).
    24. Andrew M. Pettigrew, 1990. "Longitudinal Field Research on Change: Theory and Practice," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(3), pages 267-292, August.
    25. Jarmo Vakkuri & Jan-Erik Johanson & Nancy Chun Feng & Filippo Giordano, 2021. "Governance and accountability in hybrid organizations – past, present and future," Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(3), pages 245-260, March.
    26. Trude Høgvold Olsen & Elsa Solstad & Harald Torsteinsen, 2017. "The meaning of institutional logics for performance assessment in boards of municipal companies," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 393-400, September.
    27. Lowe, Alan & Locke, Joanne & Lymer, Andy, 2012. "The SEC's retail investor 2.0: Interactive data and the rise of calculative accountability," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 183-200.
    28. Gustaf Kastberg Weichselberger & Cristian Lagström, 2021. "Accounting in and for hybrids. Observations of the power of disentanglements," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(3), pages 706-733, June.
    29. Mattias Haraldsson, 2021. "Capital expenditure deviations in a fragmented municipal context – the case of the Swedish municipal water and sewerage sector," Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(6), pages 26-45, August.
    30. Spanò, Rosanna & Grossi, Giuseppe & Landi, Giovanni Catello, 2022. "Academic entrepreneurial hybrids: Accounting and accountability in the case of MegaRide," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(5).
    31. Roberts, John, 1991. "The possibilities of accountability," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 355-368.
    32. Collin, Sven-Olof Yrjö & Tagesson, Torbjörn & Andersson, Anette & Cato, Joosefin & Hansson, Karin, 2009. "Explaining the choice of accounting standards in municipal corporations: Positive accounting theory and institutional theory as competitive or concurrent theories," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 141-174.
    33. Wenjun Wen & Christopher Humphrey & Amanda Sonnerfeldt, 2021. "The strategic significance of the CICPA in the making of a Chinese home-grown public accounting profession," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(6-7), pages 636-676, November.
    34. Niamh M. Brennan & Jill Solomon, 2008. "Corporate governance, accountability and mechanisms of accountability: an overview," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(7), pages 885-906, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Grossi, Giuseppe & Laguecir, Aziza & Ferry, Laurence & Tucker, Basil, 2024. "Accounting and accountability for managing diversity tensions in hybrid organisations," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mutiganda, Jean Claude, 2013. "Budgetary governance and accountability in public sector organisations: An institutional and critical realism approach," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(7), pages 518-531.
    2. Rana, Tarek & Hoque, Zahirul, 2020. "Institutionalising multiple accountability logics in public services: Insights from Australia," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(4).
    3. Lai, Alessandro & Leoni, Giulia & Stacchezzini, Riccardo, 2014. "The socializing effects of accounting in flood recovery," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 579-603.
    4. Alshurafa, Mohammed & Kamla, Rania, 2024. "Accountability and the postcolonial identity of Palestinian human rights NGO activists," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    5. Ahmed, Zahir Uddin & Hopper, Trevor & Wickramasinghe, Danture, 2023. "From Minnow to Mighty: A hegemonic analysis of social accountability in BRAC - the world’s largest development NGO," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    6. Ang, Soon Yong & Wickramasinghe, Danture, 2023. "Ethical disputes, coordinating acts and NGO accountability: Evidence from an NGO river-care programme in Malaysia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    7. Victoria Pagan & Kathryn Haynes & Stefanie Reissner, 2023. "Accountable Selves and Responsibility Within a Global Forum," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(2), pages 255-270, October.
    8. Cuckston, Thomas, 2022. "Accounts of NGO performance as calculative spaces: Wild Animals, wildlife restoration and strategic agency," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    9. Dewi, Miranti Kartika & Manochin, Melina & Belal, Ataur, 2021. "Towards a conceptual framework of beneficiary accountability by NGOs: An Indonesian case study," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Yasmin, Sofia & Ghafran, Chaudhry, 2019. "The problematics of accountability: Internal responses to external pressures in exposed organisations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    11. Chaoyuan She & Giovanna Michelon, 2023. "A governance approach to stakeholder engagement in sustainable enterprises—Evidence from B Corps," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(8), pages 5487-5505, December.
    12. Tweedie, Dale & Luzia, Karina, 2023. "In place, with power: (Re)conceptualising accountability in national non-government organisations," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    13. Vassili Joannides, 2012. "Accounterability and the problematics of accountability," Post-Print hal-00676561, HAL.
    14. Banerjee, Anup & Carlsson-Wall, Martin & Nordqvist, Mattias, 2024. "Hybrid board governance: Exploring the challenges in implementing social impact measurements," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).
    15. Ghio, Alessandro & Verona, Roberto, 2022. "Unfolding institutional plurality in hybrid organizations through practices: The case of a cooperative bank," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(4).
    16. Cooper, Stuart M. & Owen, David L., 2007. "Corporate social reporting and stakeholder accountability: The missing link," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(7-8), pages 649-667.
    17. Vassili Joannides, 2012. "Accounterability and the problematics of accountability," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-00676561, HAL.
    18. Aila VIRTANEN & Tuomo TAKALA, 2016. "Accountability Of Corporate Boards In Finland," Management Research and Practice, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 8(1), pages 5-24, March.
    19. English, Linda M., 2013. "The impact of an independent inspectorate on penal governance, performance and accountability: Pressure points and conflict “in the pursuit of an ideal of perfection”," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(7), pages 532-549.
    20. Taylor, Dennis & Tharapos, Meredith & Sidaway, Shannon, 2014. "Downward accountability for a natural disaster recovery effort: Evidence and issues from Australia's Black Saturday," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 633-651.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:bracre:v:56:y:2024:i:5:s0890838923000409. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-british-accounting-review .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.