Essays on systems of accountability and transparency : attributes, developments and consequences for decision-making

Organizations rely on accountability systems and transparency for decision-making and strategy implementation. Based on qualitative field data from multiple case studies, and quantitative survey data on senior executives, this thesis contributes to prior research on accountability system design and innovation to address the effective allocation of information and decision rights. Firstly, it theorizes and empirically demonstrates complementary and substitutive configurations of visibility and inferability (understanding) that should be reflected by accountability systems. Secondly, it uncovers how managers engage in initiatives to balance the competing control objectives of efficiency and flexibility in the shift toward enabling formalization of accountability systems. Finally, it tests outcomes and performance implications of enacted accountability and communication relationships within the top management team for effective managerial decision-making. Altogether, this dissertation recognizes that organizations cannot be successfully designed and managed without incorporating principles related to accountability and transparency.