The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential for strong structuration theory in accountability for performance; a key area of interest within public sector research. The paper aims to explore accountability for performance within the context of UK fire and rescue services, which have undergone reform in such systems over recent years. Performance management systems are widely regarded as a key driver in improving accountability (Bovens, 2005; 2010; Saliterer and Korac, 2013; Annisette et al., 2013). This paper focuses explicitly on performance accountability, which distinguishes the use of performance information for internal control from information that is used for the purpose of demonstrating and improving external accountability (Saliterer and Korac, 2013).
The use of performance information for external accountability can be regarded as part of a social relationship, in which actors are obliged to justify and explain their conduct to accountability forums (Bovens, 2010). In this sense, accountability can be regarded as the independent variable, whereby the behaviour of actors may (or, may not) be influenced by the presence of accountability arrangements. However, systems of accountability for performance are not simply exogenous to the individuals who relate to them - public sector actors themselves are often involved in the design of performance management systems used to monitor them. As such, Yang (2012) discusses a need to understand how actors behave in relation to structures and the consequences of such behaviour on those structures. There are few studies that aim to understand the interplay between how accountability shapes and is shaped by the dual forces of structure and action (Yang, 2012).
This paper emphasises not just how accountability mechanisms (such as performance management systems) affect (shape) individual action, but also how these systems may be shaped and (re)produced by the actors involved. In illustrating the duality of action and structure, the paper draws upon strong structuration theory and elaborates on its potential for understanding public accountability relationships. The use of strong structuration theory in this paper, is based on recent contributions (see Jack and Kholeif, 2007, Coad and Herbert, 2009, Coad et al., 2015) that explore the potential for Stones’ (2005) extension of Giddens’ original structuration theory (see Giddens, 1979; 1984).
In recent years, UK fire and rescue services have undergone reform of their performance management arrangements. In this paper, a conceptual framework is developed which can be used to explore the interplay between how actors’ behaviour has been affected by these arrangements, and how they have been involved in the design of systems of performance accountability. It allows us to see how the potentially negative implications of public policy decisions can be counteracted due to actions of the individuals involved in their implementation. In so doing, the qualitative case research allows us to illustrate how strong structuration theory can further our understanding of the structural and behavioural dynamics involved in the implementing and enacting of performance accountability arrangements used in the public sector.
G1 - Accounting and Accountability – Constructing society – History, culture, politics and
