Public Accountability beyond Institutional Control. Who do Citizens Blame for Failures in Governing Systemic Risk?

Why are public institutions blamed for crises caused by mismanagement in for-profit corporations? Building on accountability theory, this study investigates the mechanisms of blame attribution during crises, when public institutions fail to prevent systemic risks caused by private sector agents. Drawing on survey data from 1,626 Swiss citizens, this study tests how perceived situational control, causal responsibility, normative accountability expectations, and accountability performance shape citizens’ attribution of blame. The findings reveal asymmetries in the responsibility-accountability logic, showing that citizens hold public institutions accountable for private sector failures if they strongly believe that public institutions had causal responsibility and situational control over the crisis. Citizens’ normative expectations of public institutions’ obligation to govern systemic risks—but not their actual performance in handling the crisis—are strongly correlated with the blame spillover effect. These novel findings provide novel insights for business ethics in theory and practice, and inform policymakers on how to manage perceptions, maintain trust, and safeguard legitimacy during crises. The study advances accountability theory by highlighting the dynamic nature of blame, which is particularly relevant for cross-sectoral crisis governance.