Impact of Competing Accountability Requirements on Perceived Work Performance

Abstract

A number of qualitative studies have found that failure to accomplish missions can be attributed to competing accountability requirements. This article presents empirical evidence concerning the impact of competing accountability requirements on employees’ perceived work performance. Specifically, this article has two objectives: (a) to identify different types of accountability requirements with quantitative data and (b) to determine to what extent the competing pressures of accountability affect individual employees’ perceived work performance. The authors find that accountability is indeed a complex and multidimensional construct— compliance, professional, and political accountability—that imposes competing pressures on employees’ perceptions of their work performance, which can reduce the probability of actual mission accomplishment in an agency.