When Tensions Become Opportunities: Managing Accountability Demands in Collaborative Governance

Abstract Accountability in collaborative governance comprises a tangled web of vertical and horizontal accountability relationships. Although different accountability mechanisms are apparently complementary, they also clash with each other, producing serious accountability tensions. This study explores how actors in collaborative governance experience and manage conflicting accountability demands in the context of a Korean interorganizational network. Using qualitative data based on in-depth interviews with 32 personnel across 10 organizations and document analysis, the study identifies different types of accountability tensions and actors’ strategic responses to them. The analysis reveals that accountability tensions vary across the sources of the demand, and they are more likely to emerge when there are gaps in procedural and institutional arrangements or differences in collaborators’ commitment levels. Findings suggest that accountability tensions inherent to collaborative networks, when harnessed and actively managed, may be viewed as opportunities for advancing the whole network’s mission and improving network accountability. Based on these findings, the study proposes a novel framework for accountability tensions in collaborative governance with propositions about the mechanisms through which accountability tensions emerge and are managed. The study provides insights into the complexities of maintaining accountability in cross-sector, multi-actor networks.