Micro-strategies of Contextualization:
Cross-national Transfer of Socially Responsible Investment
INTRODUCTION
How do business practices become contextualized when they are transferred from one society
to another? Decades of research on the cross-national transfer of business practices
demonstrate that practices change during the transfer process. They may keep their original
label, but the actual practices change when they are implemented in other institutional
contexts (Djelic 1998). Institutionalized patterns in the host society apparently play a
determinant role in this change process. Yet, even if institutions in the host society are well
known at the time of transfer, it is not yet possible to predict whether a transfer will succeed,
nor how a business practice will change once it is transferred. These shortcomings persist
because of gaps in our understanding of the transfer process.
Different lines of inquiry have investigated transfer processes and come to alternative
conclusions. Propositions span from structural determinism to accounts that emphasize human
agency. Although the accounts differ significantly, there is broad consensus that business
practices are combined with elements in the host society during a transfer. We refer to this
process as contextualization. Contextualization occurs when business practices are entangled
with elements from a new context, which give them new shape and meaning, and ultimately
provide them with their context (Latour 1996a: 133). Contextualization is required to fit
transferred business practices to the institutional order in the host society (Casper & Hancké
1999; Hall & Soskice, 2001; Jacoby 2000; Streeck 1996). Empirical research on
contextualization, translation, and institutional transfers provide some insights into how this
fit is accomplished, but further research is needed on the role of agency in this process,
particularly research that is conducted in real time and involves direct observations (Zilber
2006).