51 2 EXTENSIVE LITERATURE REVIEW as answerability is most used in public administration, but according to Romzek and Dubnick (1987) accountability can play a greater role than answerability alone. It is also linked to the means that public agencies have to manage internal and external expectations of their stakeholders. To manage these internal and external expectations two factors are critical: ‘1) whether the ability to define and control expectations is held by some specified entity inside or out-side the agency; and 2) the degree of control that entity is given over defining those agency’s expectations’ (Romzek & Dubnick, 1987, p. 228). This notion of accountability is linked to control of expectations of the agency. Depending on the different relationships between different actors and fora, Bovens (2007) distinguishes five types of (narrow) accountability: 1. Political accountability in which the chain of principal-agent relationship, in a democracy being the representatives of voters that form cabinets of ministers, are accountable for the work of public servants; 2. Legal accountability is based on specific responsibilities and detail laws and regulations. It is enforced by civil or administrative courts and it is the most unambiguous type of accountability; 3. Administrative accountability is enforced by independent external administrative and financial supervision by quasi-legal forum such as auditing offices and (national or local) ombudsmen; 4. Professional accountability is based on codes-of-conduct and practices that are created by professional associations, for example in hospitals and schools, and enforced by professional supervisory bodies; 5. Social accountability is a recent form of accountability that has been on the rise due to the internet. Non-governmental organizations, interest groups and the public are stakeholders that public organizations feel obliged to give account to regarding their performance by means of public reporting and establishment of public panels. Bovens (2007) notes that this type of accountability might not be seen as a full accountability mechanism because the possibility of judgement and sanctions are lacking, and the relationship between the actor and forum is not clearly described.
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