From Green Governance to Biodiversity Strategy: The Role of Environmentally Experienced Directors in Chinese Firms

ABSTRACT This study investigates how directors with environmental protection (EP) backgrounds influence corporate biodiversity concern (BIO) among Chinese A‐share listed firms from 2008 to 2023. Drawing on Upper Echelons Theory, we argue that directors' environmental expertise shapes firms' biodiversity strategies. Integrating insights from the Resource‐Based View, Dynamic Capabilities, and Institutional Theory, we further examine how green management capabilities, measured by climate risk perception, green financial development, green innovation efficiency, and green patent conversion efficiency, moderate this relationship. Using multilevel fixed‐effects panel regressions, we find that EP is positively associated with BIO, and this effect is stronger in firms with more advanced green management capabilities. Heterogeneity analyses show more pronounced effects in coastal and higher‐tier cities, heavily polluting and high‐tech industries, non–state‐owned enterprises, and male‐dominated boards. A centile analysis reveals that the effect emerges at median levels of biodiversity engagement and strengthens at higher levels, indicating nonlinear governance dynamics. Overall, the study highlights how director‐level environmental expertise, combined with firm capabilities and institutional context, drives biodiversity strategy in emerging markets.