Impact of the growth opportunities of influential firms on future investment intentions: A cross-country study

•Political influence has an impact on the way firms conduct their business.•The sensitivity of future investment to growth opportunities is positive.•This sensitivity increases with political influence.•We use data from the World Business Environment Survey (WBES).

Using a global database, we examine whether perceived firm influence on policymaking affects the sensitivity of future investment intentions to current growth opportunities. The empirical results indicate that sensitivity increases with political influence, possibly because greater political connections enhance the propensity to invest due to the expected profitability.