【题  目】Love Well, Whip Well: A Competing  View  of  Political  Affinity  Between  Countries for ESG-Violating Firms

【时  间】2024年6月17日（星期一）上午10:00-11:30

【地  点】京师大厦9406

【主讲人】夏军 美国德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校 教授

【主持人】焦豪 北京师范大学经济与工商管理学院 教授

主讲人简介：夏军教授目前在美国德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校Jindal商学院任战略管理学教授。夏军教授是国际战略管理领域内著名的华人专家，其研究主要集中于4个领域：①组织理论（资源依赖、权力和制度过程）；②公司战略（并购、合资、联盟和剥离）；③社会网络（嵌入性的结果）；④国际商务（国外市场拓展、国有产权和转轨/新兴国家的制度变迁），已在Academy of Management Journal、Strategic Management Journal、Organization Science、Journal of Management、Journal of Management Studies和Organizational Research Methods等专业期刊上发表30余篇高水平学术文章，相关的研究成果在国际战略管理领域被广泛引用。

摘要：The prevailing literature on political affinity and multinational corporations’ (MNCs’) global operation commonly views political affinity as a protective shield, suggesting that the closer the relationship between the two countries, the greater the protection for MNCs. This perspective, however, is usually limited to the context of MNCs operating under normal conditions. This posits that political affinity may act as a double-edged sword in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) misconduct. While political affinity can provide an “insurance-like effect” by mobilizing home-country stakeholders to shield MNCs overseas, it may simultaneously provoke a “domestic-like penalty,” diminishing their inclination to offer protection and amplifying the reputational penalties for the offending firm. We further propose that shared language and bilateral commercial ties reinforce the domestic-like effects, intensifying the negative side of political affinity on the firm’s reputation. On the contrary, an MNC’s past ESG performance helps maintain domestic stakeholders’ confidence in the firm, intensifying the positive side of political affinity on reputational penalties. Using a sample of 9,153 ESG-violating incidents by 547 U.S. firms in different countries, our study unveils fresh insights into the double-edged sword role of political affinity.