Micro-strategies of Contextualization Cross-national Transfer of Socially Responsible Investment

easier for interviewees to express themselves freely. We also verified the factuality of all
interview data by comparing it to other data sources. For this purpose, we collected 182
newspaper articles that cited ARESE, observed group meetings of FIR, and consulted
company reports for both companies. These measures enhanced the data quality and the
internal validity of the study.

Data analysis

The interviews revealed that some individuals were more actively involved in the transfers
than others. Some individuals gave detailed accounts of their perceptions and strategies while
others were more general in their account. We identified the CEO as a key actor in both
transfers and selected the two CEO interviews for in-depth analysis. We first reconstructed
the transfer process, using a stage model of translation. This model, developed by
Czarniawska and Joerges (1996), comprises three consecutive steps: selection, objectification
and materialization. Selection occurs when individuals choose an idea that seems promising
for alleviating an organizational problem. “Organizational actors, like a collective ant-eater,
catch many, spit out most, and savor some [ideas], presumably on the grounds of relevance to
some organizational problem” (1996: 25). Objectification consists in assigning a label to a
selected idea so that it may be understood collectively. “The simplest way of objectifying
ideas is turning them into linguistic artifacts by a repetitive use in an unchanged form” (1996:
32). Ideas crystallize somewhat when they acquire a fixed terminology. Materialization is the
act of turning objectified ideas into quasi-objects. A SRI assessment tool is a quasi-object
because it transforms an idea into practice. Materialization is “this magic moment when
words become deeds” (1996: 41). We used this model as an analytical framework to recreate
the two transfer processes. It generated two detailed narratives of contextualization. Table 1
summarizes key elements at each stage of the two narratives.

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