The contingent influence of organizational capabilities on proactive environmental strategy in the service sector: An analysis of North American and European ski resorts

Our study of 134 North American and European ski resorts examines the influence of externally focused organizational capabilities on the generation of proactive environmental strategies under contingent effects of uncertainty in the general business environment. We find that the capabilities of strategic proactivity and continuous innovation are associated with proactive environmental strategies. Managerial perceptions of uncertainty in the general business environment moderate the deployment of the capability of continuous innovation at all levels of uncertainty and stakeholder engagement at low and average levels of uncertainty. The study contributes to the resource‐based view (RBV) by illuminating an important contingency under which capabilities are likely to be deployed to generate a proactive corporate strategy. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.