Workshop’s Topic: Drawing upon the imprinting perspective, our study seeks to expand theory on the relationship between executive political ties and innovation performance of emerging market enterprises (EMEs). Focusing on firm-level founding imprints, our analysis of a sample of Chinese high-tech manufacturing firms (2008-2018) suggest that executive political ties are more likely to benefit the innovation performance of firms that were founded (i) in the less open and market-oriented period (before 1992) than those founded in the more open and market-oriented period (after 1992) and (ii) as state-owned-enterprises than those that are not state owned. Interestingly, our results further show that the level of firm internationalization shapes firm-level founding imprints differently. and thus their impact on the relationship between executive political ties and innovation performance. Our research highlights the importance of moving beyond EMEs’ current environmental and firm-level contexts to consider how their history influences the effectiveness of political ties in enhancing innovation performance, furthering understanding of the contingency explanations of the focal relationship.

Time and Location: 14:30 PM (GMT+8), Room A823 (School of Management)

Language: Bilingual (Chinese and English)