Too little or too much transparency? Influencing accountability in project management through the practices of using digital technologies

Abstract

Managing projects increasingly involves digital technologies, yet it remains unclear how project participants use digital technologies for accountability. Based on data from a qualitative field study in a software consultancy organization, this article examines how accountability is shaped by project teams’ use of digital project management tools. The findings reveal that project teams actualize visibility and association affordances to configure accountability and reinforce shared accountability in client relationships. However, they are constrained by persistence affordance, which requires consistent and aligned digital transparency. This study demonstrates that the impacts of digital technologies on project accountability emerge from the actualization of affordances in specific technology practices, co-determined by the technology materiality and the accountability goals of project participants. Through visibility and association affordances, digital technologies can reinforce both hierarchical and socializing forms of accountability. However, this requires project participants to form a consensus on technology usage, binding them to each other's digital practices.