Giving or Greening? Stakeholder Dynamics and Ex‐Military Executives

ABSTRACT Firms increasingly face competing demands from different stakeholder groups, yet little is known about how these demands interact and generate strategic trade‐offs. Drawing on stakeholder theory and upper echelons theory, we investigate whether an overemphasis on philanthropic initiatives can detract from investments in green innovation, and how this relationship is moderated by the attributes of military executives. Based on 2873 firm‐year observations from 930 Chinese listed firms from 2006 to 2017, we find that philanthropic overinvestment crowds out green innovation. However, this substitution effect is mitigated when firms are led by ex‐military executives, who possess stronger stakeholder orientation and resource mobilization capabilities. Furthermore, we show that compensation growth amplifies the positive moderating role of military experience. This study contributes to the literature by providing practical insights into the impact of ex‐military executive appointments on firms' green innovation strategies. We also highlight that firms must strategically manage the trade‐offs within their corporate social responsibility portfolio, recognizing that executive decisions on competing initiatives are significantly influenced by managers' characteristics such as prior military experience and incentive structures.