Behind the Political Connections Under Emerging Democracies

ABSTRACT In light of inconclusive findings on the effect of political connections, this study explores conditions that affect the effectiveness of political connections on firm performance in democratic systems. First, using a resource dependence rationale, this study stresses the importance of variation in political connections and classifies direct and indirect political connections based on sources of power and the mechanisms for developing connections. Second, this study recognizes that influencing political outcomes is an entire political process in which political power matters. Furthermore, as power is central to the resource dependence rationale unlike exchange in transaction cost economics, this study explores how the effectiveness of political connections is contingent on the dynamics of de jure political power. We find that the effect of direct political connections is susceptible to changes in de jure political power due to its dyadic relationship with de jure power, while indirect political connections are more robust to such changes due to their connections with informal networks holding de facto political power. Further, the positive effects of political connections on firm performance are mediated by operational capability. 摘要 由于目前对政治联系对企业绩效的研究结果莫衷一是，本文试图借助新兴民主体制的独特情境，来探讨不同类型的政治联系对企业绩效的影响及其边界条件。首先，作者基于资源依赖理论分析了权力的最终来源及产生机制，并在此基础上区分了直接政治联系和间接政治联系。本研究发现政治联系对于企业绩效的影响取决于政治权力发挥作用的过程，并发现政治联系的作用随着执政党的更替而动态变化。进一步的，政治联系能通过提高企业的运作能力促进其绩效。然而，在执政党更替的动态环境中，与直接政治联系相比，间接政治联系通过与各个执政党成员建立非正式的关系，对企业绩效的影响更为显著。