Top management team biographical similarity and persistent green innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies

This research integrates upper echelons with institutional theories to examine how top management team (TMT) biographical similarity influences persistent green innovation. Using NLP analysis on 21,360 firm-year observations from Chinese listed companies (2013–2022), we find that TMT biographical similarity enhances persistent green innovation through the mediating role of green total factor productivity (GTFP), with institutional pressures further strengthening this effect. Our contributions include: (1) transforming upper echelons methodology from static demographics to dynamic cognitive profiling through semantic pattern recognition in executive biographies, bridging management with computational linguistics; (2) challenging diversity-innovation assumptions by demonstrating how strategic consistency from biographical similarity drives green innovation through GTFP as the pathway translating executive coherence into sustainability performance; and (3) revealing how shared TMT interpretive schemas filter institutional pressures, enabling strategic adaptation while establishing micro-foundations for sustained environmental strategies. From a managerial perspective, firms should strategically compose TMTs with shared career experiences, incorporate green productivity metrics into performance evaluations, and develop institutional engagement strategies tailored to varying regulatory pressures to optimize long-term sustainability outcomes.