Environmental entrepreneurship orientation and duality of goals: The moderating roles of public and private knowledge

Abstract Expanding dynamic capability theory, we propose environmental entrepreneurship orientation (EEO) as a dynamic capability to achieve a duality of goals—the simultaneous and synergistic realization of environmental and economic performance. We conceptualize a moderating effect of a company's knowledge base (public or private) on the relationship between EEO and the duality of goals. We test our hypothesis in Spanish companies by applying partial least squares modeling. We find that: a) EEO relates positively to both environmental and economic performance, b) public knowledge enhances the relation between EEO and environmental performance, and c) private knowledge strengthens the relation between EEO and economic performance. The implication of our findings is that firms need to simultaneously access public and private knowledge to optimize the influence of EEO on attaining this duality of goals.