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Seeking the spotlight: How reputational considerations shape the European Court of Auditor's shifting account‐holding role
Author(s) -
Tidå Benjamin
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/padm.12766
Subject(s) - salient , perspective (graphical) , visibility , audit , face (sociological concept) , focus (optics) , accountability , law and economics , public relations , business , political science , accounting , law , sociology , computer science , social science , physics , optics , artificial intelligence
Abstract The behavior of account‐holders has been a blind spot in the accountability literature. Relatively little is known about why account‐holders prioritize certain aspects of their account‐holding mandates and emphasize certain account‐holding tasks over others. A reputational perspective has the potential to fill this knowledge gap. This article illustrates how reputational considerations shape the ways in which account‐holders manage their account‐holding roles through a critical case study of the European Court of Auditor's shifting focus toward a more salient account‐holding role. Amid concerns about a lack of visibility, generating audience attention is found to be a central characteristic of this shift. The study demonstrates how reputational strategies for managing account‐holding roles depend on the reputational threats and audience expectations that account‐holders face in their environments. With a lack of visibility being a pressing reputational threat, the European Court of Auditors is accordingly shifting its account‐holding focus toward the spotlight.