政治關聯、管理者能力與公司績效之關聯性

he Relationship among Political Connections, Managerial Ability, and Firm's Performance

政治和商業兩者彼此關係密不可分，企業為了創造績效以達永續經營目的，會透過政治尋租來進行政商連結，而捐贈政治獻金便是其中一種方式。本文以2004年至2012年間臺灣證券交易所上市櫃公司為研究樣本，同時探討管理者能力與政治關聯對公司績效之影響，公司績效變數的衡量採股東權益報酬率、資產報酬率及每股盈餘，而政治關聯則是以公司是否有捐獻政治獻金作為判斷依據。經採用傾向分數配對法修正公司捐獻政治獻金與否的自我選擇偏誤所衍生的內生性問題後之實證結果發現，有政治關聯公司的績效表現較無政治關聯公司的績效表現好，且公司的管理者能力愈好時，整體的績效表現愈佳;進一步檢視發現，透過捐獻政治獻金所建立的政治關聯會削弱管理者能力之提升對公司績效產生的正面效果。本文之研究結果除可彌補相關文獻之不足外，亦可作為企業未來在權衡經營管理者能力與投資政治關係連結上之參考。

Business and politics are closely intertwined. To create sustainable performance for continuing business developments, firms will establish business-politics connections through rent-seeking, and political contribution is one such means. Using Taiwan Stock Exchange listed firms from 2004 to 2012, this study explores the effects of managerial ability and political connections on firm performance. Firm performance are measured by ROE, ROA and EPS respectively, while political connection is measured by political contributions. Using the propensity-score matching approach, after adjusting for the endogeneity issue derived from self-selection bias in political contribution activities, the empirical results show that firms with political connections perform better than those without political connections. The higher the firm's managerial ability, the better the performance. In addition, political connections established through political contributions mitigate managerial ability advancement, which in turn has a positive effect on firm performance. The study supplements current literature findings on political connections, and also serves as good empirical evidence referral in understanding the trade-off between a firm's managerial ability and political contributions.