Bridging the Divide: How Dual‐Background Leaders Unlock Returnee Innovation in Politically Connected Chinese Firms
研究中国上市公司中，具有国际经验的海归领导者与政治关联领导者的冲突如何通过双重背景领导者（兼具政治与国际经验）来调和，从而释放创新潜力。
Abstract This study examines how firm leadership diversity influences innovation, focusing on the interplay between returnee leaders – those with international experience – and politically connected leaders. While returnee leaders introduce globally derived innovation practices, their efforts often clash with the state‐aligned agendas of politically connected leaders. By integrating bridging mechanisms into upper echelons theory, we introduce dual‐background leaders – executives with both political and international experience – to bridge these divergent cognitive logics. Through a longitudinal analysis of Chinese publicly listed firms from 2006 to 2016, we find that the positive effect of returnee leaders on innovation performance is significantly weakened in firms with high political connectivity, especially in the absence of dual‐background leaders. Conversely, firms that effectively integrate dual‐background leaders are better positioned to reconcile competing innovation agendas and unlock the synergistic potential of leadership diversity.