Institutional Trust and Sector-Specific Corruption in Greece
Institutional Trust and Sector-Specific Corruption in Greece

Summary/Abstract: This study examines how sector-specific corruption affects institutional trust in Greece and conceptualizes corruption as a governance and process-integrity deficit that constrains organizational excellence in both public and private settings. Design/Methodology: A mixed-methods approach based on analytical triangulation was used, combining a nationwide survey of 1 973 participants in Greece with a bibliometric analysis of 1 335 Scopus-indexed publications. This enabled a parallel assessment of citizen perceptions and dominant academic framings of corruption, governance, and accountability. Findings: Clear sectoral asymmetries emerge. Public-sector corruption is primarily associated with procedural opacity and administrative discretion, while bribery for expedited processing is perceived as more frequent in certain private-sector settings. The bibliometric analysis identifies three dominant research clusters: governance and accountability frameworks, ethical paradigms in public administration, and socioeconomic drivers of corrupt behavior. There is also growing scholarly attention to digital transparency and accountability mechanisms. Institutional trust in Greece cannot be restored through legal reforms alone. Practical Implications: Anti-corruption interventions should support organizational excellence through process redesign, stronger accountability structures, leadership commitment, and digitally enabled transparency in both public and private institutions. Originality/Value: Sector-specific corruption is reframed as a barrier to process integrity, governance quality, and sustained organizational performance. Combining citizen-level perception data with bibliometric mapping bridges empirical institutional realities and academic knowledge production, extending the business excellence literature toward institutional trust as a strategic governance outcome.

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