Intercultural Transfer of Management Practices of German MNC to Brazil: The Interplay of Translation and Recontextualization

Multinational companies transfer managerial practices such as quality management globally. Studies from different perspectives have examined cultural, institutional, and organizational challenges in practice transfer, however, little is known about the micro-processes of intercultural transfer, especially in complex cultural settings as Brazil. Integrating the recontextualization perspective and Scandinavian institutionalist transfer-as-translation approach, this book explores micro-processes of transfer from German MNC to Brazilian subsidiaries from a multiple cultures perspective. Findings show the complementary nature of micro-processes of translation and recontextualization, embedding them into a process model of four stages: Preparation, translation, recontextualization, and institutionalization. Intercultural transfer can be considered an iterative and multi-level process in which practices diffuse from individuals, to teams, to the organization. The book contributes to international management by cross-fertilizing the two approaches, by highlighting cultural and institutional particularities of the Brazilian context using a culturally sensitive methodology, and by showing the transformative power of managerial practices on organizations and ecosystems.