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

PREVIOUS RESEARCH

Transfers across societies

Previous studies of cross-national transfers emphasize the role of structural factors in the
transfer process (Casper & Hancké 1999; Djelic 1998; Hall & Soskice 2001; Jacoby 2000;
Streeck 1996). They show how institutional structures at the societal level of analysis shape
the transferred business practice into one that is compatible with institutions in the host
society. An important line of inquiry within this tradition is that of Varieties of Capitalism or
Business Systems Theory (Whitley 1998, 1999). This tradition emphasizes the type of
capitalism that governs the production regime in a nation. Using a comparative approach to
production regimes, researchers demonstrate that transferred business practices take shape
after the production regime in the host society (Casper & Hancké 1999; Djelic 1998).

Institutionalist research shows that transfers proceed most easily between similar
societies. Societies may be similar because they adhere to the same variety of capitalism (Hall
& Soskice 2001) or because they construe themselves as symbolically similar (Strang &
Meyer 1994). For example, two nation states may perceive themselves to be similar, even
though their production regimes differ, due to a shared structural position on the global
market.

Transfers are apparently more difficult between societies that perceive themselves to be
dissimilar. Some studies find that it is almost impossible to transfer business practices across
very different social settings (Westney 1987; Guillen 1994; Orru et al. 1997). The foreign
practice may simply not make sense to members of the host society (Biggart & Guillen 1999:
726). It risks being considered immoral or irrational as a consequence (Biggart & Beamish
2003: 448). In contrast, other empirical studies find evidence of business practices that have
been successfully transferred to even very dissimilar societies (Casper & Hancké 1999; Djelic
1998; Djelic & Quack, 2003; Lippi 2000). These studies attribute success to the fact that the

<<   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   >>

More intriguing information