Public agencies are increasingly explaining and justifying their conduct in ways that go beyond what is legally required. This rise of voluntary accountability in the public sector is noteworthy,... Show morePublic agencies are increasingly explaining and justifying their conduct in ways that go beyond what is legally required. This rise of voluntary accountability in the public sector is noteworthy, especially in light of concerns about inadequate accountability safeguards in modern governance. The objective of this dissertation is to understand the motivations behind organisational accountability-seeking behaviour. Drawing from a reputational perspective on accountability, this dissertation investigates the following research question: What are the drivers of voluntary accountability? Based on a multi-method study of EU agencies, this dissertation shows that there is no "holy grail" of one dominant set of driving motivations behind voluntary accountability, although reputational considerations do emerge as a prominent force. While different mechanisms are at play, it is possible to better understand the drivers of voluntary accountability – both conceptually and in terms of motivations – by looking at the audience to whom account is rendered: the “forum” in accountability terminology. This dissertation finds that accountability-seeking motivations are intimately inter-linked to the relationship actors seek to cultivate and cannot be elucidated in abstract thereof. Hence, even though voluntary accountability by definition originates from the account-giver, the best advice to anyone seeking to understand voluntary accountability is to look to the forum! Show less
Regulators interact with a wide variety of stakeholders, ranging from politicians, interest groups, to citizens. Communicating with these stakeholders is crucial for regulators: Amongst others, it... Show moreRegulators interact with a wide variety of stakeholders, ranging from politicians, interest groups, to citizens. Communicating with these stakeholders is crucial for regulators: Amongst others, it provides them with unique information to make better regulatory decisions, it can foster support for their regulatory strategies, and it can strengthen their organizations’ regulatory mandates. However, regulatory communication is no easy feat. Stakeholders have varying preferences and might react adversely towards a regulator’s public message – or stakeholders might not even be listening at all. This dissertation discovers how EU regulators strategically use communication to advance their organizations’ agenda. Through the blended use of machine learning and quantitative text analysis, it sheds light on how regulators interact with the news media, how various regulatory organizations secure public attention, and how they ultimately seek to protect their organizations’ public reputations. The findings aim to improve our understanding of “what makes regulators tick” and to provide evidence to consider public communication as an integral part of regulatory governance. Show less
This dissertation studies how domestic regulatory agencies and the officials representing them are influenced by and deal with the increasingly complex transnational environments in which they have... Show moreThis dissertation studies how domestic regulatory agencies and the officials representing them are influenced by and deal with the increasingly complex transnational environments in which they have come to operate. Based on (social) network analysis it demonstrates how decisions of domestic agencies regarding standard adoption are strongly guided by decisions of regulators in other countries, particularly those to whom they are directly related through network relationships. In understanding the way in which transnational networks affect domestic agencies, we should explicitly measure the structure of relationships that constitute such networks. However, based on qualitative analysis, this thesis also demonstrates that agencies have different capacities and resources for (transnational) networking and they are likely susceptible to transnational network influences in varying degrees. The effects of transnational networks on domestic agencies are thus moderated by the way in which transnational network activities are structured and coordinated inside these agencies. Overall, given the increasing prevalence of transnational networks in various regulatory and policy sectors, this dissertation provides a basis for further theorizing about ongoing and future developments in the fields of regulatory governance and public administration. Show less
