Biodiversity as a Social–Ecological Capability : Extending the Natural Resource‐Based View in Renewable Energy Systems

You, Jacqueline Jing and Hudson, Paul and White, Piran C. L. and Harrison, Laura J. and Armstrong, Alona and Treasure, Lucy and Lee, Hing Kin (2026) Biodiversity as a Social–Ecological Capability : Extending the Natural Resource‐Based View in Renewable Energy Systems. Business Strategy and the Environment. ISSN 0964-4733

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Abstract

Biodiversity loss is an increasingly critical sustainability challenge; yet, within the Natural Resource‐Based View (NRBV), it remains undertheorised and is often treated as a generic environmental factor rather than a structuring social–ecological mechanism. This study reconceptualises biodiversity as shaping how environmental capabilities emerge and create strategic value. Drawing on an inductive qualitative approach supported by Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping, we investigate the solar farm sector in England—an ecologically embedded sector characterised by mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements, complex land‐use negotiations and multi‐actor habitat management. Our analysis identifies three interconnected orientations—instrumental, integrative and ecosystem‐based—that capture distinct logics through which firms interpret biodiversity, mobilise resources and govern biodiversity‐related capabilities. The study extends the NRBV by specifying how environmental capabilities evolve in biodiversity‐dependent infrastructures and by broadening its boundary conditions. It offers a more ecologically grounded foundation for strategy and supports nature‐positive business models.