In the case of FIR, coupling was used extensively to legitimize the transfer of SRI. One
way that this occurred was through the creation of strategic alliances with key individuals and
organizations. At the preliminary stages, the CEO contacted a number of stakeholders that
could either facilitate the transfer by associating with the project or block the transfer by
distancing themselves from it. Her strategy to mobilize alliances was to identify elements that
had importance to each stakeholder and combine them with SRI. This process of coupling
generated an SRI practice with support from many key stakeholders. The elements of SMEs
and environmentally preventive technologies were added in this way. Through coupling, the
CEO overcame the pockets of resistance in Quebec society (see section on filtering). She
selected board members that represented powerful stakeholders, which legitimized the
transfer and prevented the formation of a coalition against it. For instance:
“We made an agreement with the Responsible Investment Network of Quebec and all the
community organizations in Quebec to develop a common approach to sustainable
development. The government officials who were most reluctant to support the project
saw immediately that we were reinforcing an organization that they wanted to abolish.”
(CEO of FIR)
In coupling FIR to strategically placed organizations in the field, the CEO facilitated the
transfer of SRI to Quebec.
DISCUSSION: CONTEXTUALIZATION, TRANSLATION AND TRANSFER
Our empirical study examined the transfer of the American business practice of socially
responsible investment (SRI) to respectively France and Quebec. We studied the process of
contextualization from the perspective of the individuals who undertook the transfer,
obtaining a more detailed account of the process than is usual for transfer studies. This
analysis revealed a number of micro-strategies that were used in both transfers to fit the
American business practice to the host society. These micro-strategies were (1) Filtering, (2)
Rerouting, (3) Stowing, (4) Defusing, and (5) Coupling (see table 2 for an overview). We
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