IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v20y2014icp109-135.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Political connections and operational performance of non-financial firms: New evidence from Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Jackowicz, Krzysztof
  • Kozłowski, Łukasz
  • Mielcarz, Paweł

Abstract

This study analyses the impact of political connections on the operational performance of non-financial firms in Poland. Using a data set covering the 2001–2011 period, we find that political connections lower firm profitability, as measured on the level of income from sales. The negative impact is the strongest when a firm possesses multiple connections, has politically connected members on its supervisory board, or employs ex-politicians with central government experience. Therefore, our findings do not support claims based on resource dependence theory. The Polish market's specificity is most likely related to the instability of the political scene.

Suggested Citation

  • Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kozłowski, Łukasz & Mielcarz, Paweł, 2014. "Political connections and operational performance of non-financial firms: New evidence from Poland," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 109-135.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:20:y:2014:i:c:p:109-135
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2014.06.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014114000399
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2014.06.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claessens, Stijn & Feijen, Erik & Laeven, Luc, 2008. "Political connections and preferential access to finance: The role of campaign contributions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 554-580, June.
    2. Ilya Okhmatovskiy, 2010. "Performance Implications of Ties to the Government and SOEs: A Political Embeddedness Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 1020-1047, September.
    3. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    4. Zhong-qin Su & Hung-Gay Fung, 2013. "Political Connections and Firm Performance in Chinese Companies," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 283-317, August.
    5. Mara Faccio, 2010. "Differences between Politically Connected and Nonconnected Firms: A Cross‐Country Analysis," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 905-928, September.
    6. Bliss, Mark A. & Gul, Ferdinand A., 2012. "Political connection and cost of debt: Some Malaysian evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1520-1527.
    7. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    8. Pungulescu, Crina, 2013. "Measuring financial market integration in the European Union: EU15 vs. New Member States," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 106-124.
    9. Hung, Mingyi & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2012. "Political considerations in the decision of Chinese SOEs to list in Hong Kong," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 435-449.
    10. Yan-Shing Chen & Chung-Hua Shen & Chih-Yung Lin, 2014. "The Benefits of Political Connection: Evidence from Individual Bank-Loan Contracts," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 45(3), pages 287-305, June.
    11. Wenfeng Wu & Chongfeng Wu & Oliver M. Rui, 2012. "Ownership and the Value of Political Connections: Evidence from China," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 18(4), pages 695-729, September.
    12. Bliss, Mark A. & Gul, Ferdinand A., 2012. "Political connection and leverage: Some Malaysian evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 2344-2350.
    13. Haiyang Li & Yan Zhang, 2007. "The role of managers' political networking and functional experience in new venture performance: Evidence from China's transition economy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(8), pages 791-804, August.
    14. Liu, Jianlei & Uchida, Konari & Gao, Ruidong, 2012. "Political connections and the long-term stock performance of Chinese IPOs," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 814-833.
    15. Chaney, Paul K. & Faccio, Mara & Parsley, David, 2011. "The quality of accounting information in politically connected firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 58-76.
    16. repec:cup:jfinqa:v:46:y:2011:i:06:p:1865-1891_00 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Adhikari, Ajay & Derashid, Chek & Zhang, Hao, 2006. "Public policy, political connections, and effective tax rates: Longitudinal evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 574-595.
    18. Alexandra Niessen & Stefan Ruenzi, 2010. "Political Connectedness and Firm Performance: Evidence from Germany," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 11(4), pages 441-464, November.
    19. Megginson, William L., 2005. "The economics of bank privatization," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(8-9), pages 1931-1980, August.
    20. Narjess Boubakri & Jean-Claude Cosset & Walid Saffar, 2012. "The Impact Of Political Connections On Firms’ Operating Performance And Financing Decisions," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 35(3), pages 397-423, September.
    21. Michael J. Cooper & Huseyin Gulen & Alexei V. Ovtchinnikov, 2010. "Corporate Political Contributions and Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(2), pages 687-724, April.
    22. Jun Du & Sourafel Girma, 2010. "Red Capitalists: Political Connections and Firm Performance in China," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(4), pages 530-545, November.
    23. Haizhen Wang & Jie Feng & Xinmei Liu & Ruoyong Zhang, 2011. "What is the benefit of TMT’s governmental experience to private-owned enterprises? Evidence from China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 555-572, September.
    24. Eitan Goldman & Jörg Rocholl & Jongil So, 2013. "Politically Connected Boards of Directors and The Allocation of Procurement Contracts," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 17(5), pages 1617-1648.
    25. Boubakri, Narjess & Cosset, Jean-Claude & Saffar, Walid, 2008. "Political connections of newly privatized firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 654-673, December.
    26. David Roodman, 2006. "How to Do xtabond2," North American Stata Users' Group Meetings 2006 8, Stata Users Group.
    27. Boubakri, Narjess & Guedhami, Omrane & Mishra, Dev & Saffar, Walid, 2012. "Political connections and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 541-559.
    28. Richard A. D'Aveni, 1990. "Top Managerial Prestige and Organizational Bankruptcy," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(2), pages 121-142, May.
    29. Joel F. Houston & Liangliang Jiang & Chen Lin & Yue Ma, 2014. "Political Connections and the Cost of Bank Loans," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 193-243, March.
    30. MARA FACCIO & RONALD W. MASULIS & JOHN J. McCONNELL, 2006. "Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2597-2635, December.
    31. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon, 2002. "Privatization benefits in Eastern Europe," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(3), pages 307-324, March.
    32. Ma, Liangbo & Ma, Shiguang & Tian, Gary, 2013. "Political connections, founder-managers, and their impact on tunneling in China's listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 312-339.
    33. Faccio, Mara & Parsley, David C., 2009. "Sudden Deaths: Taking Stock of Geographic Ties," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(3), pages 683-718, June.
    34. Blau, Benjamin M. & Brough, Tyler J. & Thomas, Diana W., 2013. "Corporate lobbying, political connections, and the bailout of banks," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 3007-3017.
    35. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    36. Tahoun, Ahmed, 2014. "The role of stock ownership by US members of Congress on the market for political favors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 86-110.
    37. Amore, Mario Daniele & Bennedsen, Morten, 2013. "The value of local political connections in a low-corruption environment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 387-402.
    38. Matthew Hill & Kathleen Fuller & G. Kelly & Jim Washam, 2014. "Corporate cash holdings and political connections," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 123-142, January.
    39. Francis, Bill B. & Hasan, Iftekhar & Sun, Xian, 2009. "Political connections and the process of going public: Evidence from China," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 696-719, June.
    40. Julie Juan Li & Laura Poppo & Kevin Zheng Zhou, 2008. "Do managerial ties in China always produce value? Competition, uncertainty, and domestic vs. foreign firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 383-400, April.
    41. Christopher F. Baum & Mustafa Caglayan & Dorothea Schäfer & Oleksandr Talavera, 2008. "Political patronage in Ukrainian banking1," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 16(3), pages 537-557, July.
    42. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    43. repec:zbw:bofitp:2014_002 is not listed on IDEAS
    44. Di Giuli, Alberta & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2014. "Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 158-180.
    45. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2009_007 is not listed on IDEAS
    46. Charles JP Chen & Yuan Ding & Chansog (Francis) Kim, 2010. "High-level politically connected firms, corruption, and analyst forecast accuracy around the world," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(9), pages 1505-1524, December.
    47. Markus Taussig, 2009. "Where Is Credit Due? Legal Institutions, Connections, and the Efficiency of Bank Lending in Vietnam," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(2), pages 535-578, October.
    48. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kowalewski, Oskar & Kozłowski, Łukasz, 2013. "The influence of political factors on commercial banks in Central European countries," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 759-777.
    49. Asim Ijaz Khwaja & Atif Mian, 2005. "Do Lenders Favor Politically Connected Firms? Rent Provision in an Emerging Financial Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(4), pages 1371-1411.
    50. Raymond Fisman, 2001. "Estimating the Value of Political Connections," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1095-1102, September.
    51. Ovtchinnikov, Alexei V. & Pantaleoni, Eva, 2012. "Individual political contributions and firm performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(2), pages 367-392.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. John Rand, 2017. "Are politically connected firms less constrained in credit markets?," WIDER Working Paper Series 200, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Muhammad Haris & Hongxing Yao & Gulzara Tariq & Hafiz Mustansar Javaid & Qurat Ul Ain, 2019. "Corporate Governance, Political Connections, and Bank Performance," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-37, October.
    3. Vincent Tawiah & Abdulrasheed Zakari & Yan Wang, 2022. "Partisan political connections, ethnic tribalism, and firm performance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1331-1362, May.
    4. Wang, Delu & Ma, Gang & Song, Xuefeng & Liu, Yun, 2016. "Political connection and business transformation in family firms: Evidence from China," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 117-130.
    5. John Rand, 2017. "Are politically connected firms less constrained in credit markets?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-200, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Tee, Chwee Ming, 2018. "Political connections and the cost of debt: Re-examining the evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 51-62.
    7. Feifei Yu & Yue Guo & Fiona Lettic & Stuart J Barnes, 2019. "Regional Anti‐Corruption Effort, Political Connections And Firm Innovation Effort: Evidence From China," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(1), pages 18-32, January.
    8. Kravchenko Grygorii, 2021. "International Experts’ Influence on Company Internationalization," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 29(4), pages 57-90, December.
    9. Wong, Wai-Yan & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2018. "Do types of political connection affect firm performance differently?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 297-317.
    10. Thanakorn Suriyapongprapai & Pattanaporn Chatjuthamard & Arnat Leemakdej & Sirimon Treepongkaruna, 2022. "Stakeholder engagement, military ties, and firm performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(2), pages 469-479, March.
    11. Hongfeng Peng & Xiao Zhang & Xiaoquan Zhu, 2017. "Political connections of the board of directors and credit financing: evidence from Chinese private enterprises," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57(5), pages 1481-1516, December.
    12. Katarzyna Szarzec, 2023. "Przedsiębiorstwa państwowe we współczesnej gospodarce – cele i uwarunkowania efektywności działania," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 3, pages 295-314.
    13. Dang, Vinh Q.T. & So, Erin P.K., 2018. "Having the wrong friends at the wrong time: Effects of political turmoil on politically-connected firms," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 79-94.
    14. Sabeeh Ullah & Yasir Kamal, 2017. "Board Characteristics, Political Connections, and Corporate Cash Holdings: The Role of Firm Size and Political Regime," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 9(1), pages 157-179, March.
    15. Phan, Dinh Hoang Bach & Tee, Chwee Ming & Tran, Vuong Thao, 2020. "Do different types of political connections affect corporate investments? Evidence from Malaysia," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    16. Tee, Chwee Ming & Pak, Mei Sen & Lee, Mei Yee & Majid, Abdul, 2021. "CEO generational differences, risk taking and political connections: Evidence from Malaysian firms," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hasan, Iftekhar & Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kowalewski, Oskar & Kozlowski, Lukasz, 2013. "Politically Connected Firms in Poland and Their Access to Bank Financing," Working Papers 13-37, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Weiss Center.
    2. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kozłowski, Łukasz & Podgórski, Błażej & Winkler-Drews, Tadeusz, 2020. "Do political connections shield from negative shocks? Evidence from rating changes in advanced emerging economies," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    3. Sharma, Piyush & Cheng, Louis T.W. & Leung, T.Y., 2020. "Impact of political connections on Chinese export firms' performance – Lessons for other emerging markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 24-34.
    4. Hasan, Iftekhar & Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kowalewski, Oskar & Kozlowski, Lukasz, 2013. "Politically Connected Firms in Poland and Their Access to Bank Financing," Working Papers 13-37, University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, Weiss Center.
    5. repec:zbw:bofitp:2014_002 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Wong, Wai-Yan & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2018. "Do types of political connection affect firm performance differently?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 297-317.
    7. Rajwani, Tazeeb & Liedong, Tahiru Azaaviele, 2015. "Political activity and firm performance within nonmarket research: A review and international comparative assessment," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 273-283.
    8. Cull, Robert & Li, Wei & Sun, Bo & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2015. "Government connections and financial constraints: Evidence from a large representative sample of Chinese firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 271-294.
    9. Chkir, Imed & Gallali, Mohamed Imen & Toukabri, Manara, 2020. "Political connections and corporate debt: Evidence from two U.S. election campaigns," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 229-239.
    10. Emmanuelle Nys & Amine Tarazi & Irwan Trinugroho, 2013. "Political Connections, Bank Deposits, and Formal Deposit Insurance: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Working Papers hal-00916513, HAL.
    11. Su, Zhong-qin & Fung, Hung-Gay & Huang, Deng-shi & Shen, Chung-Hua, 2014. "Cash dividends, expropriation, and political connections: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 260-272.
    12. Stephen Gray & Iman Harymawan & John Nowland, 2016. "Political and government connections on corporate boards in Australia: Good for business?," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 41(1), pages 3-26, February.
    13. Thanh Ngo & Jurica Susnjara, 2020. "Government contracts and US bond yield spreads: A study on costs and benefits of materialized political connections," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 1059-1085, July.
    14. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kozłowski, Łukasz & Podgórski, Błażej, 2022. "Political appointees and firms’ long-term capital market performance: Evidence from Central European countries," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    15. Miroslav Palanský, 2021. "The value of political connections in the post-transition period: evidence from Czechia," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 121-154, July.
    16. Qu Deng & Hezun Li & Hong Yue, 2024. "Public–private partnership, cost of debt and accounting conservatism," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 432-482, March.
    17. Wei, Chunyan & Hu, Shiyang & Chen, Feng, 2020. "Do political connection disruptions increase labor costs in a government-dominated market? Evidence from publicly listed companies in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    18. Habib, Ahsan & Ranasinghe, Dinithi & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Islam, Ainul, 2018. "Political connections, financial reporting and auditing: Survey of the empirical literature," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 37-51.
    19. Shen, Chung-Hua & Bui, Dien Giau & Lin, Chih-Yung, 2017. "Do political factors affect stock returns during presidential elections?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 180-198.
    20. Park, SeHyun, 2023. "Profitability of politically corrupt firms: Evidence from Romania," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    21. Nnadi, Modestus I. & Sorwar, Ghulam & Eskandari, Rasol & Chizema, Amon, 2021. "Political connections and seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political connections; Operational performance; Listed firms; Emerging economies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • H80 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:20:y:2014:i:c:p:109-135. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620356 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.