Key factors impacting effective accountability: A comprehensive bibliographic

Abstract

Open government is an effective mechanism of democracy, which encourages meaningful citizen participation in public government decisions. The objective of this study was to analyze the factors that impact accountability and transparency, identifying the challenges that hinder adequate transparency and public trust. The analysis focused on: a) the Principal-Agent Theory, which postulates that public officials are responsible to the citizens who elected them; b) open government and citizen participation in co-governance; and c) New Public Management, which promotes efficiency and greater citizen participation. The research methodology included search protocols in the Scopus database. The use of VOSviewer allowed the analysis of co-occurrences of key terms. A total of 31 documents related to the selected topic were analyzed. The findings indicate that in emerging countries, institutions are often weak and there is a lack of a culture of accountability. Factors such as insufficient resources, the delivery of outdated, delayed, and irrelevant information, and barriers to accessing information contribute to corruption, inefficiency, and public distrust. In addition, low citizen participation is a major obstacle to the creation of public value and the provision of public services. Among the practical implications is the fact that the RoC allows for greater institutional legitimacy, citizens trust their institutions, and actively participate in institutional co-governance.