**Appendix B**

According to the administrative level classification standard of CSMAR database, the political connections order of top managers is encoded into eighteen categories from top level to the lowest level. If the board chair or general manager currently or previously is a member of the government and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), his or her political connection order is marked as follows: 01 indicates national leader, 02 indicates sub-national leader, 03 indicates provincial-ministerial level, 04 indicates sub-provincial level, 05 indicates bureau-director level, 06 indicates deputy-bureau-director level, 07 indicates division-head level, 08 indicates deputy-division-head level, 09 indicates section-head level, 10 indicates deputy-section-head level, 11 indicates inspector level, 12 indicates deputy-inspector level, 13 indicates investigator level, 14 indicates deputyinvestigator level, 15 indicates section-chief level, 16 indicates deputy-section-chief level, 17 indicates staff member level, 18 indicates clerk level, and 98 means unable to identify the administrative level. In addition, if the board chair or general manager is a representative of the National People's Congress or the Party, 01 indicates the country level, 03 indicates the provincial level, 05 represents the municipal level, 07 indicates the county level, and 09 indicates the town level.
