Anti-Competition and Anti-Corruption Controversies in the European Financial Sector: Examining the Anti-ESG Factors with Entropy Weight and TOPSIS Methods

Georgia Zournatzidou, George Sklavos, Konstantina Ragazou () and Nikolaos Sariannidis
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Georgia Zournatzidou: Department of Business Administration, University of Western Macedonia, GR 51100 Grevena, Greece
George Sklavos: Department of Business Administration, University of Thessaly, GR 41500 Larissa, Greece
Konstantina Ragazou: Department of Management Science and Technology, University of Western Macedonia, GR 50100 Kozani, Greece
Nikolaos Sariannidis: Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Western Macedonia, GR 50100 Kozani, Greece

JRFM, 2024, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: (1) Background: This research aims to investigate the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors on European banking corruption. Thus, its novelty is based on considering anti-competitive concerns as a major component that may considerably impact fraud and bribery in corruption investigations. (2) Methods: To approach the research question, we conducted an examination of anti-competitive practices at 344 financial institutions headquartered in Europe throughout the period 2018 to 2022 using the entropy weight and TOPSIS methods. (3) Results: This study reveals that anti-competitive actions are typified by environmental debate and genuine policy competition. Analysing the results prompted us to reach this conclusion. The present study’s findings reveal that financial institutions in Scandinavian nations demonstrate the most significant anti-competitive activity. (4) Conclusions: This research is the first study to underscore the concept of anti-competition disputes and their impact on the emergence of corruption, extortion, and fraud in the European banking sector. Although anti-competitive and corrupt practices may appear to be distinct concepts, they both lead to the financial sector acquiring disproportionate control over the market.

Keywords: anti-corruption; anti-competition; ESG standards; controversies; fraud; bribery; entropy weight method; multicriteria decision making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C E F2 F3 G (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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