Fighting Corruption Through Accountability? A Survey Experiment

Public Administration

Abstract

ABSTRACT Democratic Weberian bureaucracy is facing great challenges upholding public values as we see turbulent party politics disrupt merit‐based systems, causing bureaucrats' goal displacement and conflicting compliance under multiple accountability mechanisms. Using vignette experiment design, 555 Taiwanese public employees were surveyed to explore how legal, administrative, and social accountabilities influence the perception of black, gray, and white corruption. While respondents accurately identified corruption severity, accountability reminders diminish ethical judgments and are ineffective in explaining whistle‐blowing intention. The study revealed that organizational positions interact differently with accountability reminders in a Weberian bureaucracy. Findings highlight the need to cultivate ethical judgment to shift from external controls to trigger greater perceived accountability to combat corruption. This study sheds light on both felt accountability and corruption theories to reflect existing anti‐corruption strategies.

Authors 2

1. Ming-Feng Kuo

   National Taiwan University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Political Science and Graduate Institute of Public Affairs National Taiwan University Taipei Taiwan

2. Hsini Huang corresponding Aachen Institute of Public Administration Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs Leiden University The Hague The Netherlands

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Public Administration, Faculty of Governance & Global Affairs Leiden University The Hague the Netherlands