Is it the Pursuit of Political Favors?

Another prediction is that organizations construct their non-market behavior in accordance with signals coming from influential local government actors (Luo and Chung, 2013; Marquis and Qian, 2013; Zhang and Luo, 2013; Zhang, Marquis, and Qiao, 2016). Managers acting strategically invest in government transferences (e.g., operation privileges) to improve their market standing [i.e., rent-seeking and special interest groups may develop (Olson, 1971)]. Under this argument, when the domestic government allocates aid, managers will increase their giving to seek its preference and capture public transferences (Zhang and Luo, 2013; Zhang et al., 2016). Following this logic, the analyses for H3 systematically reject the likelihood of such motive being a part of the studied donations.