Defending Mao’s Dream: How Politicians’ Ideological Imprinting Affects Firms’ Political Appointment in China

Abstract

Prior studies on corporate political strategies have taken an exchange view to examine their benefits and costs for both firms and politicians, but less explored is how politicians’ political values shape their perceptions of, and willingness to engage in, these exchanges. We investigate how politicians’ imprinted political ideologies affect the likelihood of local firms securing political appointments. Looking at 760 city mayors across 242 Chinese cities from 2001 to 2013, we find that cities have fewer private firms appointed to local councils if the mayor—the key decision maker for such appointments—is more strongly imprinted with an orthodox communist ideology that opposes capitalism. The intensity and the evolution of such an ideological imprint are influenced by contextual factors. The strength of the imprint is shaped by the mayors’ prior exposure to intense ideological experiences, such as experiencing the Cultural Revolution at a young age. Working in an environment consistent with the ideology—such as a province with a greater communist legacy—sustains and even strengthens the imprint, whereas working in an environment inconsistent with the ideology—such as a province with greater economic development—attenuates it. We discuss the implications of these findings for political strategy research, imprinting theory, and the nascent research stream on political ideology.