Institutional Trust and Sector-Specific Corruption in Greece

Purpose: 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 socio-economic 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.