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

Micro-strategy of contextualization
(label and definition)

Illustrative example from the French case

Illustrative example from the Quebec case

(1) FILTERING

Disentanglement of elements in the
translated object that could be perceived as
‘incongruent’ with the new context.

■ Downplay of the moral and religious connotations of
SRI to present it as a neutral and objective investment in
firms with long-term profitability.

■ Downplay of the profit-making elements of SRI to make
the practice more social in scope and thus better aligned
with the Francophone business culture.

(2) REROUTING

Change of meaning or function of the
translated object in order to make it more
useful and/or acceptable in the new
context.

■ Transformation of SRI from a moral and political device
to a financial tool. Instead of preventing ‘sin’ stocks
(negative screening), SRI facilitates investment in sound
companies (positive screening).

■ Redefinition of SRI as a means to reinforce the Quebec
model of economic development.

(3) STOWING

Entanglement of the translated object with
a social movement and/or current trends in
the new context to facilitate its acceptance.

■ Alignment of SRI with the dilemma that French savings
banks face in being financial investors charged with a
mission to ensure public good and social welfare (public
service spirit) at a time of financial liberalization.

■ Mobilization of the Life Cycle Approach to benefit from
the momentum that this concept enjoyed at the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

(4) DEFUSING

Transformation of the translated object in
response to an existing threat in the new
context.

■ Creation of a sophisticated methodology in which
analysts make in-depth investigation of firms. This is
possible in France because of relatively fewer companies
to assess than in the United States.

■ Presentation of SRI as an extension of Quebec resistance
to Anglophone oppression, as a way to restore social
justice and to balance power in the financial world, while
masking the origin of SRI in the Anglophone world.

(5) COUPLING

Combination of the translated object with
a widely accepted object from the new
context to increase the usefulness and/or
acceptability of import into this context.

■ Use of the preexisting 'Bilan Social' and the EFQM
framework to develop SRI methodology, including
assessment tools, legitimate firm questionnaires,
databases and calculations of managerial performance.

■ Mobilization of elements that are important to those
stakeholders who could potentially support the transfer
of SRI, such as ‘environmentally preventive
technologies’ and ‘management of SMEs’.