The Transfer of Organizational Management Techniques Across Borders

In this paper we propose combining elements from the neo-institutional school on organizations with elements drawn from the comparative world-systemic approach to macroscopic process of social change to study the transfer of organizational management techniques across national boundaries. We first show the limitations of previous research on international transfers. We then discuss the applicability of neo-institutional theory to the study of international transfers and suggest ways it can be modified to deal with cross-national flows. We conclude by putting forth a number of propositions to guide empirical work. We draw on the authors ' separate studies on multinationals and their influence on organizational forms in a developing country, and on the worldwide diffusion of scientific management, human relations and structural theories of organization