Culture and accountability in organizations: Variations in forms of social control across cultures

In this article, we advance a cultural perspective on accountability in organizations. We seek to demonstrate that societal culture forces for accountability are found at multiple levels in organizations—from the individual, to the interpersonal and group context, and to the organization at large, which collectively form a loosely coupled accountability web or system [Frink & Klimoski, Res. Pers. Hum. Resour. Manage. 16 (1998) 1]. We first describe fundamental elements of accountability webs that are found in any social system or are universal (or etic). We then discuss three aspects of culture, namely, individualism–collectivism, cultural tightness–looseness, and hierarchy– egalitarianism (power distance), and their specific linkages to the components of accountability webs. We argue that these three cultural components, in combination, produce unique cultural configurations of accountability in organizations that vary considerably in the nature and consequences. We then describe four specific cultural accountability webs and their manifestations at different levels of analysis in organizations. Theoretical and practical implications of this perspective are discussed. D 2004 Published by Elsevier Inc.