IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/beexfi/v29y2021ics2214635021000022.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Political connections of Russian corporations: Blessing or curse?

Author

Listed:
  • Trifonov, Dmitri

Abstract

This paper provides comprehensive empirical evidence on political connections of Russian corporations based on a sample of companies for the period 2011–2015 (divided into subsamples before and after the events in Ukraine). Based on a unique database, the study (1) evaluates how common political connections are for Russian corporate environment, and (2) investigates the impact of political connections on firm value through an event study. The research shows that 27% of Russian corporations from the sample had the top officials of Russia as directors, and 43% of corporations were found to be politically connected on the basis of either state ownership or directorship. Political connections are unevenly distributed among industries, and regulated industries are more heavily politicized. Aviation, oil & gas, and banking were the most politically connected sectors of the Russian economy. The event study showed that political connections have a value-destructive total effect which is statistically significant and robust. Generally, the stock market responds to announcements of political connections with a drop in share prices by 1.34% on average within 5 trading days. Different groups of stakeholders exert different impacts on firm value. The most negative influence on firm value is that of politically connected owners. The stock market reacts to acquisitions of shares by politically connected owners with a drop in stock prices by 1.82% within 5 trading days, and with a drop in stock prices by 4.3% when the politically connected owners were individuals. The negative value effect of political connections strengthened after the events in Ukraine.

Suggested Citation

  • Trifonov, Dmitri, 2021. "Political connections of Russian corporations: Blessing or curse?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:beexfi:v:29:y:2021:i:c:s2214635021000022
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbef.2021.100458
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214635021000022
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbef.2021.100458?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
    ---><---

    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. Wang, Xia & Feng, Mingming & Xu, Xiaodong, 2019. "Political connections of independent directors and firm internationalization: An empirical study of Chinese listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Daniel Berkowitz & Mark Hoekstra & Koen Schoors, 2012. "Does Finance Cause Growth? Evidence from the Origins of Banking in Russia," NBER Working Papers 18139, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Lela Nurlaela Wati & Hj. Ina Primiana & Kashan Pirzada & Rachmat Sudarsono, 2019. "Political connection, blockholder ownership and performance," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 7(1), pages 52-68, September.
    6. 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.
    7. Scott Gehlbach & Konstantin Sonin & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2010. "Businessman Candidates," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(3), pages 718-736, July.
    8. Leuz, Christian & Oberholzer-Gee, Felix, 2006. "Political relationships, global financing, and corporate transparency: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 411-439, August.
    9. Federico Cingano & Paolo Pinotti, 2013. "Politicians At Work: The Private Returns And Social Costs Of Political Connections," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 433-465, April.
    10. Andrei Yakovlev & Anton Sobolev & Anton Kazun, 2014. "Means of production versus means of coercion: can Russian business limit the violence of a predatory state?," Post-Soviet Affairs, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2-3), pages 171-194, May.
    11. Christophe Godlewski & Zuzana Fungáčová & Laurent Weill, 2011. "Stock Market Reaction to Debt Financing Arrangements in Russia," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 53(4), pages 679-693, December.
    12. Qigui Liu & Tianpei Luo & Gary Gang Tian, 2019. "How do political connections cause SOEs and non‐SOEs to make different M&A decisions/performance? Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(4), pages 2579-2619, December.
    13. 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.
    14. Hu, Yi & Wang, Changyun & Xiao, Gang & Zeng, Jianyu, 2020. "The agency cost of political connections: Evidence from China's File 18," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Sun, Pei & Xu, Haoping & Zhou, Jian, 2011. "The value of local political capital in transition China," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 110(3), pages 189-192, March.
    18. Majumder, Debasish, 2012. "When the market becomes inefficient: Comparing BRIC markets with markets in the USA," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 84-92.
    19. Banerji, Sanjay & Duygun, Meryem & Shaban, Mohamed, 2018. "Political connections, bailout in financial markets and firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 388-401.
    20. Sireethorn Civilize & Udomsak Wongchoti & Martin Young, 2015. "Political Connection and Stock Returns: A Longitudinal Study," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 50(1), pages 89-119, January.
    21. Brown, Stephen J. & Warner, Jerold B., 1985. "Using daily stock returns : The case of event studies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 3-31, March.
    22. Unsal, Omer & Hassan, M. Kabir & Zirek, Duygu, 2016. "Corporate lobbying, CEO political ideology and firm performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 126-149.
    23. Wu, Huiying & Li, Sihai & Ying, Sammy Xiaoyan & Chen, Xuan, 2018. "Politically connected CEOs, firm performance, and CEO pay," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 169-180.
    24. Natalia Lamberova & Konstantin Sonin, 2018. "Economic transition and the rise of alternative institutions : Political connections in Putin's Russia," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(4), pages 615-648, October.
    25. Jianlei Han & Guangli Zhang, 2018. "Politically connected boards, value or cost: evidence from a natural experiment in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(1), pages 149-169, March.
    26. Krueger, Anne O, 1974. "The Political Economy of the Rent-Seeking Society," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(3), pages 291-303, June.
    27. repec:hhs:bofitp:2012_010 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Konstantin Sonin & Scott Gehlbach, 2004. "Businessman Candidates," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 178, Econometric Society.
    29. Seung-Hyun Lee & Mine Ozer & Yoon-Suk Baik, 2018. "The impact of political connections on government bailout: the 2008 credit crunch in the United States," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 299-315, November.
    30. Jaison Caetano da Silva & Wlamir Gonçalves Xavier & Cinara Gambirage & Silvio Parodi Oliveira Camilo, 2018. "The Influence of Political Connections on the Cost of Capital and the Performance of Companies Listed on B3," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 15(4), pages 317-330, July.
    31. Michael Rochlitz, 2014. "Corporate raiding and the role of the state in Russia," Post-Soviet Affairs, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2-3), pages 89-114, May.
    32. Yu He & Lei Xu & Ron P. McIver, 2019. "How does political connection affect firm financial distress and resolution in China?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(26), pages 2770-2792, June.
    33. Johnson, Simon & Mitton, Todd, 2003. "Cronyism and capital controls: evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 351-382, February.
    34. Wang, Yizhong & Yao, Chengxue & Kang, Di, 2019. "Political connections and firm performance: Evidence from government officials' site visits," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    35. Bliss, Mark A. & Goodwin, John A. & Gul, Ferdinand A. & Wong, Anson, 2018. "The association between cost of debt and Hong Kong politically connected firms," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 321-334.
    36. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    37. Li, Guoping & Zhou, Hong, 2015. "Political connections and access to IPO markets in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 76-93.
    38. Fama, Eugene F, 1970. "Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 25(2), pages 383-417, May.
    39. Chune Young Chung & Jung Hoon Byun & Jason Young, 2019. "Corporate Political Ties and Firm Value: Comparative Analysis in the Korean Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-25, January.
    40. Schweizer, Denis & Walker, Thomas & Zhang, Aoran, 2019. "Cross-border acquisitions by Chinese enterprises: The benefits and disadvantages of political connections," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 63-85.
    41. Frye, Timothy M. & Iwasaki, Ichiro, 2011. "Government directors and business–state relations in Russia," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 642-658.
    42. Giaccotto, Carmelo & Sfiridis, James M., 1996. "Hypothesis testing in event studies: The case of variance changes," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 349-370, October.
    43. Berkowitz, Daniel & Hoekstra, Mark & Schoors, Koen, 2014. "Bank privatization, finance, and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 93-106.
    44. Cheng, Lei & Cheng, Hong & Zhuang, Ziyin, 2019. "Political connections, corporate innovation and entrepreneurship: Evidence from the China Employer-Employee Survey (CEES)," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 286-305.
    45. Feng Liu & Hui Lin & Huiying Wu, 2018. "Political Connections and Firm Value in China: An Event Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 551-571, October.
    46. Chernykh, Lucy, 2008. "Ultimate ownership and control in Russia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 169-192, April.
    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. Yaghoub Abdi & Xiaoni Li & Xavier Càmara-Turull, 2023. "Firm value in the airline industry: perspectives on the impact of sustainability and Covid-19," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Xia, Tianjiao & Liu, Xiaohui, 2022. "The innovation paradox of TMT political capital in transition economy firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 775-790.

    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. Rihem Braham & Christian Peretti & Lotfi Belkacem, 2022. "On the Measurement and Extent of Banks’ Political Connection in the Middle East and North Africa Region," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 64(4), pages 606-645, December.
    2. 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.
    3. Budi Wahyono, 2023. "Do political connections affect the market reaction to firms’ inclusion in or exclusion from the Sharia index?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(4), pages 835-854, December.
    4. Brahma, Sanjukta & Zhang, Jing & Boateng, Agyenim & Nwafor, Chioma, 2023. "Political connection and M&A performance: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 372-389.
    5. Joni, Joni & Ahmed, Kamran & Hamilton, Jane, 2020. "Politically connected boards, family and business group affiliations, and cost of capital: Evidence from Indonesia," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(3).
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Nnadi, Modestus I. & Sorwar, Ghulam & Eskandari, Rasol & Chizema, Amon, 2021. "Political connections and seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    9. Ilona Babenko & Viktar Fedaseyeu & Song Zhang, 2017. "Executives In Politics," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 1762, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    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. 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.
    12. Benjamin M. Blau & Todd G. Griffith & Derek Larsen & Ryan J. Whitby, 2022. "Corporate lobbying and the value of firms: The case of defense firms and the 9/11 terrorist attacks," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 22(4), pages 759-769, December.
    13. 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.
    14. Rihem Braham & Christian Peretti & Lotfi Belkacem, 2019. "Do political connections affect bank leverage? Evidence from some Middle Eastern and North African countries," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 23(4), pages 989-1006, December.
    15. Dongmin Kong & Junyi Xiang & Jian Zhang & Yiyang Lu, 2019. "Politically connected independent directors and corporate fraud in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(5), pages 1347-1383, March.
    16. David Schoenherr, 2019. "Political Connections and Allocative Distortions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(2), pages 543-586, April.
    17. Liu, Xiaoyan & Zhao, Rui & Guo, Mengmeng, 2023. "CEO turnover, political connections, and firm performance: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    18. Zhi Wang & Geert Braam & Daniel Reimsbach & Jiaxin Wang, 2020. "Political embeddedness and firms’ choices of earnings management strategies in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(5), pages 4723-4755, December.
    19. Braham, Rihem & de Peretti, Christian & Belkacem, Lotfi, 2020. "The role of political patronage in the risk-taking behaviour of banks in the Middle East and North Africa," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    20. Sinan Abdullah Harjan & Min Teng & Sayyed Sadaqat Hussain Shah & Jamal Hadash Mohammed, 2019. "Political Connections and Cost of Debt Financing: Empirical Evidence from China," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 9(1), pages 212-216.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political connections; Corporate governance; Event study; Stock returns; Russia; Crimea;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • P34 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Finance
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights

    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:beexfi:v:29:y:2021:i:c:s2214635021000022. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-behavioral-and-experimental-finance .

    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.