Influences of political connections on entrepreneurs' subjective well-being: a multilevel investigation

Abstract

PurposePolitical connections are widely acknowledged as an effective political strategy for achieving firm value. However, surprisingly little is known about the association between political connections and individual-level outcomes (e.g. subjective well-being) and the underlying mechanism for this link.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the schematic model of social capital and entrepreneurship and utilizing a sample of rural Chinese entrepreneurs, the authors developed and tested a multilevel model delineating the impact of political connections on entrepreneur well-being (job and life satisfaction) via the mediating roles of bribing behavior and institutional trust at individual and provincial levels.FindingsMultilevel analyses revealed that at the individual level, political connections were positively associated with job and life satisfaction; bribing behavior and institutional trust served as partial mediators of these associations. These effects were deviated when examining them at the provincial level.Research limitations/implicationsThe theoretical implications concerning the political connections and subjective well-being effects as well as comparative entrepreneurship were discussed.Practical implicationsFurther, the authors provide guidance for both entrepreneurs and policymakers.Originality/valueThe study linked political connections to entrepreneurs' subjective well-being which is increasingly seen as an important ingredient of personal success via distinguishing the individual-level effects from the provincial-level effects. Thus, the study further contributes to the contextualized understanding of the entrepreneurship literature.