Temporal Patterns and Trends in Corporate Donations Using PageRank and Node Similarity Graph Algorithm

Corporate donations wield considerable influence within political arenas, shaping policies and influencing decision-making processes. This study uses Neo4j, an advanced graph database tool, to explore a comprehensive company dataset, focusing on unraveling temporal patterns and evolving trends in corporate contributions. Visual representations, such as bar charts, reveal significant fluctuations in donations, indicating potential cyclic patterns occurring every six years. The study explores intricate relationships between donor entities and recipients, highlighting diverse donation patterns—both focused and widespread. The study's derived PageRank scores offer a comprehensive portrayal of the varying degrees of influence among diverse entities receiving donations within the network. Notably, the Conservative and Unionist Party emerges as the most prominent entity, boasting a striking score of 1.86, indicating a substantial influx of financial support likely to significantly shape its political endeavors. Despite a lower score of 0.62, the Labor Party still signifies a noteworthy level of financial backing, albeit less extensive than its counterpart. In contrast, the Liberal Democrats, The In Campaign Ltd, and Network for Animals Ltd exhibit comparatively restrained financial backing, warranting deeper investigation into the factors affecting their funding. Moreover, undisclosed findings regarding 170 similarity scores using Node Similarity algorithm disclose a prevalent similarity trend among entities, notably observed between Company 1 and Company 2, implying potential synergistic partnerships in donation-related endeavors. This high similarity often indicates shared values, highlighting prospects for collaborative initiatives or partnerships to augment positive impacts. Utilizing these insights supports the formulation of targeted donation strategies, circumventing donation redundancies, and ensuring optimal resource allocation for maximal societal benefit within specified sectors.

Keywords—Company Dataset, Corporate Donations, Neo4j, Node Similarity, PageRank, Political Influence