Public Procurement Practices, Corruption Perception, and Service Delivery in the EU: An Empirical Analysis of Financial Accountability and Predictive Roles
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60154/jaepp.2025.v26n2p82Keywords:
Audit Oversight, Financial Accountability, Public Procurement Practices, Corruption Perception, Service DeliveryAbstract
The study examined the predictive role of public procurement practices, corruption perception, and service delivery in the EU. A descriptive research design was utilised to collect cross-country data for 27 EU member states. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were deployed using SPSS (version 23.0). The findings indicated that the mean scores for public procurement practices (PPP = 60.26), corruption perception (CPI = 43.00), and service delivery (RQI = 58.14) were significantly higher than the global averages. Statistical tests confirmed these differences: PPP, t(26) = 5.74, p < .001; CPI, t(26) = 6.98, p < .001; and service delivery, t(26) = 4.97, p < .001. Further, regression analysis revealed that changes in PPP and CPI combined could explain 75% (R² = .75) of the variation in service delivery. The study supported the Counterfactual Theory of Causation, as articulated in the CPC service delivery model, which establishes a direct link between corruption perception and service delivery. The study argued that persistent corruption will continue to fuel fraudulent procurement practices, ultimately compromising service delivery. This pattern is observed in some EU member states, including Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania, due to many predictors such as weak AOI and FAM.
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