The Effects of Business and Political Ties on Firm Performance: Evidence from China
基于241家中国企业的调查数据，研究发现商业关系比政治关系更能提升企业绩效，且两种关系的效果取决于法律执行效率、政府支持力度和技术变化速度等制度与市场环境。
Despite increasing attention to the role of social ties in emerging economies, few studies have explicitly distinguished the differential roles of business versus political ties. Drawing on relational governance and institutional theories, this study offers a contingent view of business and political ties in China. The findings from a survey of 241 Chinese firms indicate that business ties have a stronger positive effect on performance than political ties, and both effects depend on institutional and market environments. Business ties are more beneficial when legal enforcement is inefficient and technology is changing rapidly, whereas political ties lead to greater performance when general government support is weak and technological turbulence is low. These findings indicate that firms operating in China should be cautious in their use of business and political ties and adapt their tie utilization to changing institutional and market environments.