Hallucinogens, alcohol and shifting leadership strategies in the ancient Peruvian Andes

In the pre-Columbian Andes, the use of hallucinogens during the Formative period (900–300 BC) often supported exclusionary political strategies, whereas, during the Late Horizon (AD 1450–1532), Inca leaders emphasised corporate strategies via the mass consumption of alcohol. Using data from Quilcapampa, the authors argue that a shift occurred during the Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000), when beer made from Schinus molle was combined with the hallucinogen Anadenanthera colubrina. The resulting psychotropic experience reinforced the power of the Wari state, and represents an intermediate step between exclusionary and corporate political strategies. This Andean example adds to the global catalogue documenting the close relationship between hallucinogens and social power.

Impact of Corporate Political Connections on Cost of Equity: A Dynamic Panel Approach

We analyze the impact of corporate political connections on the cost of equity of non-financial firms listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. We extract data from the DataStream and Election Commission of Pakistan for the years 2001 to 2018. The Generalized Method of Moments is used for data analysis. This research finds that firms use political connections to enjoy a lower cost of equity capital. Further, firms with strong ties to political power obtain more benefits on financing cost as compared to non-connected firms. Besides, we also find that firms affiliated with a large business group enjoy a lower cost of equity than non-affiliated connected firms. The findings may be helpful for regulators to formulate suitable policies concerning the use of corporate political strategies and to assist unconnected and non-affiliated firms to access finance easily.

Corporate Political Strategies

Firms deploy value-based strategies to achieve competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, processes of value creation and appropriation do not happen in a vacuum but are structured by a set of formal market institutions that define, among other things, policies and regulations on standards, privacy, safety, trade, and access to resources. Corporate political strategies are the ways firms use to shape these policies and regulations in favorable ways that help them achieve competitive advantage. The political activities include lobbying, participation in hearings, campaign contributions, the use of revolving-door personnel, advocacy, grass-roots mobilization, and nurturing and exploiting political ties. Firms interact with government officeholders in different government arenas, such as national and local legislatures, government agencies, and the judiciary branch. For most corporations, being able to deploy effective political strategies is, therefore, necessary for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. The research into corporate political strategies has tried to explain why firms engage in political strategy, when, and which political activity would yield the best results. The usual theoretical framings draw from Resource Dependence Theory, Institutional Theory, Resource-Based View, Agency Theory, and Stakeholder Theory. While the strategic logic underlying each theoretical approach varies, they are better seen as complementary to each other. The fact that the phenomenon of political strategies is complex, dynamic, and an important part of daily business of several corporations favors the integration of different theoretical approaches. Although the literature on corporate political strategies has considerably advanced, there are still areas that could benefit from future research: the integration of market and political strategies, especially the use of market actions as political influence; the integration of social and political strategies; the role that individual and managerial aspects play in choice of political strategies; and multicountry comparative studies, especially focusing on ideological turnarounds and state capitalism.

Corporate political strategies: the case of the Brazilian railway sector

Resumo O propósito desta pesquisa foi, por meio de estudo de casos múltiplos, identificar as estratégias políticas empresariais empregadas por 4 concessionárias ferroviárias de cargas brasileiras em 2 casos de mudança regulatória e em 1 caso de pedido de prorrogação de contratos de concessão. O tema vem ganhando notoriedade em função dos escândalos de corrupção na relação entre atores políticos e econômicos, públicos e privados, no Brasil. Foram conduzidas 33 entrevistas, tanto com gestores das concessionárias quanto com representantes de associações de defesa de interesses, do órgão regulador, do poder legislativo e de especialistas no setor. As evidências apontam que os comportamentos estratégicos analisados não se enquadram em uma única tipologia de estratégia genérica encontrada na literatura. No entanto, de modo geral, há uma tendência à postura reativa nos casos de mudança regulatória, em contraste com uma postura proativa quanto à alteração dos prazos dos contratos de concessão.

Corporate Political Strategies in Weak Institutional Environments: A Break from Conventions

There is a lack of research about the political strategies used by firms in emerging countries, mainly because the literature often assumes that Western-oriented corporate political activity (CPA) has universal application. Drawing on resource-dependency logics, we explore why and how firms orchestrate CPA in the institutionally challenging context of Nigeria. Our findings show that firms deploy four context-fitting but ethically suspect political strategies: affective, financial, pseudo-attribution and kinship strategies. We leverage this understanding to contribute to CPA in emerging countries by arguing that corporate political strategies are shaped by the reciprocity and duality of dependency relationships between firms and politicians, and also by advancing that these strategies reflect institutional weaknesses and unique industry-level opportunities. Importantly, we shed light on the muttered dark side of CPA. We develop a CPA framework and discuss the research, practical and policy implications of our findings.

Corporate political strategies in Europe: The determinants of firms' access to the European Commission

Corporate political strategies have been used extensively by firms attempting to shape their political environments. In this context, access to targeted policymakers is essential to allow their deployment. Thus, we propose to study the determinants of access to the European Commission representatives. This research builds on the resource-based view (RBV) of firms to argue that political knowledge is a valuable resource to increase firms' degree of access to the European Commission. To test our hypotheses, we built a novel dataset merging firms characteristics with lobbying meetings information, and analyze it through negative binomial regression. The results suggest the importance of political knowledge, emphasizing that it may represent a source of sustainable competitive advantage. This study highlights interesting information that broadens the understanding of corporate political strategies in the European Union.

Political strategies of Chinese firms in Germany: an institutionalist perspective

Purpose Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) often causes negative public responses, particularly in western industrialized countries. An important instrument of Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) to overcome these concerns is the use of political strategies. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Based on institutionalist theory, the author formulates research hypotheses and tests them with a sample of 611 subsidiaries of Chinese MNCs in Germany. Findings The study shows that CEO political connection is positively associated with the use of the information and financial incentives strategies, while state ownership influences the use of the financial incentives and reputation-building strategies. Also, moderating effects of subsidiary age on these three political strategies are revealed. Originality/value The author derives implications for the literature on corporate political strategies as well as for research on Chinese OFDI, institutional theory and international management theory.