市场化速度与私营企业的关系投入--基于动态制度观的实证研究

The Relationship between Speed of Marketization and Guanxi Investment of Private Enterprises--An Empirical Study Based on Dynamic Institution-Based View

制度的动态性是转型经济制度环境的一个关键特征,现有研究却很少考察市场化速度与企业行为的关系,尤其是它如何影响中国私营企业对关系的运用。本文引入制度摩擦和制度真空的概念,尝试建立市场化速度影响制度真空变化和企业关系投入的理论逻辑。我们认为市场化速度对制度真空的变化存在两种此消彼长的作用,一种是正式制度推进带来的制度真空收缩效应,另一种是正式制度失效带来的制度真空扩张效应,特定阈值的市场化速度下是前一种效应主导,之上是后一种效应主导。制度真空收缩会刺激私营企业减少关系投入,扩张则会带来企业增加关系投入,由此导致私营企业的关系投入随市场化速度呈现“U”形变化。弱小的新企业、小企业更容易受制度真空变化的影响。本文运用2010~2014年5594个私营企业混合截面数据样本和中国分省份市场化指数,实证检验了上述理论假设,发现法:律与中介组织的市场化速度与私营企业的关系投入之间存在向右下方倾斜的凹形曲线关系,企业年龄和规模会削弱上述关系。上述发现部分支持本文的假设,并提示了新企业和小企业在动态制度环境中的弱势地位,为动态基础观的后续研究提供了值得进一步探究的思路。

Institutional dynamics are an important feature of transition economies.However,most of the existing studies on in-stiutions in transition economies are limited to the static development of institutions and few have paid attention to the speed of in-stitutional change,the dynamic nature of institutions.How will changes of formal institutions afect guanxi,which is an important informnal institutional arrangement in the Chinese context?Existing research has not yet given a clear and consistent conclusion.This paper will focus on private enterprises that are more sensitive to institutional environment and explore whether private small and new enterprises are more sensitive to the speed of institutional change.Speed of marketization is used to simultaneously rellect both the speed and the direction of institutional change in our research.By introducing concepts of institutional void and institutional friction,this paper proposes a theoretical logic that speed of marketiza-tion affects institutional void change and investment of private enterprises in guanxi.Institutional voids refer to situations where for-mal institutions are absent or barely function,and institutional friction refers to conflicts between newly established formal institu-tions and informnal instiutions or the original formnal instiutions during the process of instiutional change.We believe that speed of marketization alfects guanxi investment of private enterprises through the change of institutional void,and it has two antagonistic effcts on the change of institutional void.On the one hand,with the increase of marketization speed,institutional voids contract because of rapid improvement of formal institutions;on the other hand,informal institutions cannot keep uwith the development of formal institutions and cause institutional friction,which leads to failure of formnal institutions.In this case,institutional voids ex-pand.Under a certain threshold of marketization speed,the former contraction effect of institutonal voids predominates,which leads to a continuing contraction of institutional voids.When institutional voids continue to contract,the value of guanxi investment will continue to depreciate,and thus private enterprises will reduce guanxi investment.While above the threshold,the latter expan-sion efct of institutional void predominates.With the expansion of institutional voids,private enterprises will increase their guanxi investment to buy“insurance”for the future.Therefore,we expect a U-shaped relationship between the speed of marketization and guanxi investment of private enterprises.In addition,the article argues that private small enterprises and new enterprises lack institutional buffers and are more vulner-able to changes in institutional environment.W hen institutional voids expand in the environment,the liability of smallness and new-ness of private small and new enterprises will be strengthened,which makes them resort to the network of guanxi to counter the un-favorable environment.Therefore,we expect that compared with large or medium-sized enterprises and mature enterprises,the U-shaped relationship between speed of marketization and guanxi investment of private small enterprises and new enterprises will be more prominent.We use data from a national-level survey of Chinese private entrepreneurs(2010-2014)and the Marketization Index of China's Provinces compiled by Fan Gang to test the above theoretical hypotheses.The sample consists of mixed cross-section data of 5594 private enterprises.The calculation of speed of marketization is based on an index of the development level of laws and inter-mediary organizations,which is a sub-index of marketization index in Fan's report.The reason for the calculation is the improve-ment and implementation of the law is main formnal institutions that affect the protection of property rights and transaction security,and is also closely related to the function of guanxi network.Results show that there is a concave curve relationship which is in-clined to the lower right in shape between speed of marketization and guanxi investment of private enterprises.The age and size of the enterprise will weaken the above relationship,but the two moderating efctse are not independent.The above findings partially support the hypotheses and the proposed theoretical logie of our research.Increase in marketization speed will reduce guanxi invest-ment of private enterprses,suggesting sensitivity of private new enterprises and small enterprises to dynamics of institutions.Limit-ed by the sample,when the speed of marketization becomes too fast,the efect of marketization speed on institutional void expan-sion which is caused by institutional friction still needs further exploration in future research.