Not All Political Ties Are the Same: Firms’ Ties to the Government and Pollution

Li, WH; Cuypers, IRP; Ertug, G; Bapuji, H; Liu, W

Not All Political Ties Are the Same: Firms’ Ties to the Government and Pollution

Li, WH Cuypers, IRP Ertug, G Bapuji, H Liu, W

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Publisher:: SAGE Publications
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Management

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Li, WH
dc.contributor.author	Cuypers, IRP
dc.contributor.author	Ertug, G
dc.contributor.author	Bapuji, H
dc.contributor.author	Liu, W
dc.date.accessioned	2025-09-10T10:34:14Z
dc.date.available	2025-09-10T10:34:14Z
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Management
dc.identifier.issn	0149-2063
dc.identifier.issn	1557-1211
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189769
dc.description.abstract	Complementing research on the implications of political ties for firms’ strategic decisions and financial performance, recent studies are increasingly focusing on the environmental consequences of firms’ political connections. We contribute to this stream of work by integrating insights from the literature on political ties and the multifaceted nature of governments to explore how the level of government influences the pollution implications of firms’ political ties. Specifically, we theorize and demonstrate that, in China, firms’ achieved political ties with high levels of the government reduce pollution, while such ties with low levels of the government increase it. Furthermore, we examine how these relationships are moderated by firm owners’ social class and the attention by different levels of the government to their respective primary goals. Our analysis of data from 6,758 privately-owned Chinese enterprises provides support for our predictions. Our main conceptual contribution is to add more nuance to the research on political ties by highlighting the contingent role of the level of government in shaping firms’ pollution outcomes.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	SAGE Publications
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Management
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/01492063251361787
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	Li, W. H., Cuypers, I. R. P., Ertug, G., Bapuji, H., & Liu, W. ‘Not All Political Ties Are the Same: Firms’ Ties to the Government and Pollution’. Journal of Management, 0(0). Copyright ©2025 https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063251361787
dc.subject	1503 Business and Management, 1505 Marketing
dc.subject.classification	Business & Management
dc.subject.classification	3505 Human resources and industrial relations
dc.subject.classification	3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
dc.title	Not All Political Ties Are the Same: Firms’ Ties to the Government and Pollution
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1503 Business and Management
utslib.for	1505 Marketing
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Business School
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Business School/Management Discipline
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience (CCRR)
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2025-09-10T10:34:12Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online

Abstract:

Complementing research on the implications of political ties for firms’ strategic decisions and financial performance, recent studies are increasingly focusing on the environmental consequences of firms’ political connections. We contribute to this stream of work by integrating insights from the literature on political ties and the multifaceted nature of governments to explore how the level of government influences the pollution implications of firms’ political ties. Specifically, we theorize and demonstrate that, in China, firms’ achieved political ties with high levels of the government reduce pollution, while such ties with low levels of the government increase it. Furthermore, we examine how these relationships are moderated by firm owners’ social class and the attention by different levels of the government to their respective primary goals. Our analysis of data from 6,758 privately-owned Chinese enterprises provides support for our predictions. Our main conceptual contribution is to add more nuance to the research on political ties by highlighting the contingent role of the level of government in shaping firms’ pollution outcomes.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/189769