The need to implement advanced approaches to protect the environment is forcing companies to refocus their internal procedures and actions. To match employees' capabilities and the organization itself to these new requirements, the human resource management department can offer some key tools. This article analyzes whether environmental training (ET) and organizational learning (OL) positively influence the development of proactive environmental strategies (PESs) and compares the two processes, which differ in the time, costs, and difficulty required to implement them. Companies in the tourism sector are currently facing a highly dynamic environment where innovativeness is a decisive factor for achieving competitiveness. As such, we analyze whether the presence or absence of innovativeness influences the development of these two mechanisms. Using a sample of 252 tourism companies, we tested these relationships using structural equation modeling. The findings showed that (1) innovativeness is an antecedent of implementing ET and OL in the companies sampled, (2) both mechanisms promote implementing PESs, and (3) ET is equally as effective as OL for this purpose. Managers should take these findings into account when deciding which mechanism to apply when striving to achieve environmental proactivity.

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Manuscript Type: EmpiricalResearch Question/Issue: We examine whether director interlocks enable or inhibit a firm's adoption of a proactive environmental strategy. Specifically, using resource dependence theory, we argue that director interlocks with suppliers are linked to varying likelihoods that a firm adopts a proactive environmental strategy, depending on the relation between the provided resources and the environmental approach. Research Findings/Insight: Based on a sample of US electric firms, our results show that director interlocks with firms providing knowledge-intensive business services are positively linked to the adoption of proactive environmental strategies. However, director interlocks with firms providing financial resources and fossil fuel are negatively related to the adoption of these strategies for our sample. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Board linkages may enable and inhibit proactive environmental strategies. We contribute to resource dependence theory by offering empirical evidence that the reduction of uncertainty about critical resources by director interlocks may either make business change easier or constrict a firm's autonomy, making change more difficult. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The influence of interlocking directors varies depending on the type of resources that director interlocks transfer to their organizations. As a result, the selection of specific director interlocks can become very important to the strategic goals of the firm. Regulators should continue to pay attention to potential risks for other stakeholders from director interlocks.

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