Account-Holding Intensity in the EU Accountability Landscape: A Comprehensive Review of EU agencies' Institutional Accountability Relationships*

Abstract

In this article, we propose a novel conceptualization of account-holding intensity – defined as both the frequency and diligence of account-holding – as an instrument for analysing the behaviour of account-holders in the accountability landscape of EU agencies. We examine the account-holding intensity of six major institutional EU account-holders through a complementary mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data collected from directors and senior managers of EU agencies. Account-holding intensity is measured through the survey data, with the interview data providing detailed insight into why some account-holders are more/less active and/or diligent than others. The survey and interview data are furthermore triangulated with in-depth interviews with account-holders and unobtrusive indicators of account-holding intensity. This amounts to a comprehensive empirical review of the EU agencies' institutional accountability relationships, which reveals how different account-holders are driven by different institutional logics that are associated with different account-holding intensities.