Showing papers on "Embeddedness published in 2008"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors deal with the problem of embeddedness of economic behavior in the social relations and analyze over and half-socialized concepts of human action in sociology and in economics.
Abstract: The paper deals with the problem of embeddedness of economic behavior in the social relations. This part of the text contains the theoretical definitions of embeddedness. The author analyzes over- and half-socialized concepts of human action in sociology and in economics. The issues of trust and fraud in economic life are in the focus.
3,774 citations
TL;DR: Work engagement and job embeddedness have seen dramatic growth in research interest over the past few years as discussed by the authors, and work engagement can be defined as a positive, fulfilling state of mind, most commonly characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption.
Abstract: Both work engagement and job embeddedness have seen dramatic growth in research interest over the past few years. Briefly, work engagement can be defined as a positive, fulfilling state of mind, most commonly characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption. Job embeddedness, in contrast, captures components of an individual’s attachment to their job and can be said to consist of links, perceptions of personenvironment fit, and the sacrifices involved in quitting. Despite some strong similarity in the constructs in their theoretical bases, there has been no attempt to distinguish them empirically. Thus, the primary research question driving this study was whether work engagement and job embeddedness were empirically distinct constructs. Using a sample of US employees from a wide variety of industries and occupations (n587), their supervisors, and their closest co-worker, we found via confirmatory factor analysis that engagement and embeddedness were unique constructs. Moreover, using usefulness analysis, we found that engagement and embeddedness each shared unique variance with in-role performance and intention to leave. We discuss the implications of these findings relative to work on motivation and attachment and develop practical implications from our findings as well as directions for future research.
809 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the role of an alliance network in terms of the technological distance between partners, a firm's network position (centrality) and total network density, and found that successful exploration indeed seems to require a delicate balance between these two exploration tasks.
678 citations
TL;DR: This study investigates the role of a firm's efforts in cultivating trust and harvesting value for themselves via the virtual communities that they sponsor and finds that efforts to provide quality content and foster member embeddedness have positive effects on customer beliefs about the sponsor.
Abstract: Although previous scholars have examined the value of virtual communities to customers, in this study we investigate the role of a firm's efforts in cultivating trust and harvesting value for themselves via the virtual communities that they sponsor. We hypothesize that the perceptions of a firm's efforts to provide quality content, to foster member embeddedness, and to encourage interaction foster favorable customer beliefs about and trust in a virtual community sponsor. Further, we hypothesize that trust motivates customers to behave relationally toward the sponsoring firm by sharing information with, coproducing new products with, and granting loyalty to, the sponsoring firm. Data from 663 customers are analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. We find that efforts to provide quality content and foster member embeddedness have positive effects on customer beliefs about the sponsor. In fact, fostering member embeddedness has a stronger explanatory effect on customer beliefs than does providing quality content. However, despite the fact that previous studies show that customers value interaction in virtual communities, our findings suggest that firms must do more than encourage interaction among their community members if they hope to create value from their virtual communities.
449 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that early entrants benefit from inviting coverage that makes a few-but not too many-links to other entrants, thus helping audiences perceive an emerging category.
Abstract: Firms that do not fit into established business categories tend to be overlooked, but new markets often form around these “misfits.” Because being seen as part of a growing population makes new populations seem real, counting them is important to mainstreaming new markets. Yet, if firms outside the mainstream are overlooked, how can they be counted? Extending the embeddedness perspective to social cognition about markets, this research exposes the media's central role in market formation. Using a new method for extracting data about market networks from media coverage, this study demonstrates that early entrants benefit from inviting coverage that makes a few-but not too many-links to other entrants, thus helping audiences perceive an emerging category. As the market matures, however, references to rivals become unhelpful. These findings illustrate the value of a linguistic turn to empirical studies of meaning construction and the reification of social structure.
401 citations
TL;DR: This article explored whether Muslim immigrants respond to their societal situation by engaging in collective political action, and found that social psychological mechanisms known to facilitate immigrants' collective action can provide predictive leverage relative to the influence of grievances, efficacy, identity, emotions, and embeddedness in civil society networks.
Abstract: The social and political integration of Muslim immigrants into Western societies is among the most pressing problems of today. Research documents how immigrant communities are increasingly under pressure to assimilate to their “host” societies in the face of significant discrimination. In this article, we bring together two literatures—that on immigrants and that on social movement participation—to explore whether Muslim immigrants respond to their societal situation by engaging in collective political action. Although neither literature has given much attention to immigrant collective action, they do provide predictive leverage relative to the influence of grievances, efficacy, identity, emotions, and embeddedness in civil society networks. Our analyses are comprised of three separate but identical studies: a study of Turkish (N = 126) and Moroccan immigrants (N = 80) in the Netherlands and a study of Turkish immigrants (N = 100) in New York. Results suggest that social psychological mechanisms known to ...
314 citations
TL;DR: The concept of structural embeddedness as discussed by the authors refers to the importance of framing suppliers as being embedded in larger supply networks rather than in isolation, which helps buying companies create more realistic policies and strategies when managing their suppliers.
Abstract: The concept of structural embeddedness refers to the importance of framing suppliers as being embedded in larger supply networks rather than in isolation. Such framing helps buying companies create more realistic policies and strategies when managing their suppliers. Simply put, the performance of a supplier is dependent on its own supply networks. By adopting the concept of structural embeddedness, we learn that a buying company needs to look at a supplier's extended supply network to arrive at a more complete evaluation of that supplier's performance. By doing so, a buying company may do a better job of selecting suppliers for long-term relationships and may also find value in maintaining relationships with poorly performing suppliers who may potentially act as a conduit to other companies with technological and innovative resources.
291 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the network epistemologies that underlie several frameworks for studying global economic organization and contrast the embedded network as a trust-based governance structure with the construct of the global commodity chain, which understands network governance in terms of power relations or "drivenness".
Abstract: This article analyses the network epistemologies that underlie several frameworks for studying global economic organization. Specifically, the embedded network of the new economic sociology is compared with various global chain constructs that seek to emphasize the connectedness of actors and activities across space. I argue that the micro-sociological foundations of the new economic sociology make embeddedness a problematic concept for analysing economic organization at a global level. I then contrast the embedded network as a trust-based governance structure with the construct of the global commodity chain, which understands network governance in terms of power relations or ‘drivenness’. Finally, I explain how the recent theory of global value chain governance by Gereffi, Humphrey and Sturgeon (2005) departs from the macro-sociological tradition that oriented earlier chain frameworks: this theory, which focuses on the coordination of inter-firm dyads in a global value chain, returns to a micro-...
258 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the notion of integrated rural tourism, theorized in relation to the concepts of embeddedness, dis-embeddedness, endogeneity, and empowerment, and report on qualitative research which explored the existence of such characteristics in rural networks operating among small businesses and resource controllers in the English-Welsh borders.
201 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a synthesis of the Nee and Sanders' (2001) ''forms of capital'' model with the ''mixed embeddedness'' approach was applied to enterprises established by newly arrived immigrant communities, combining agency and structure perspectives.
Abstract: What form is small business activity taking among new migrants in the UK? This question is addressed by examining the case of Somalis in the English city of Leicester.We apply a novel synthesis of the Nee and Sanders' (2001) `forms of capital' model with the `mixed embeddedness' approach (Rath, 2000) to enterprises established by newly arrived immigrant communities, combining agency and structure perspectives. Data are drawn from business-owners (and workers) themselves, rather than community representatives. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were held with 25 business owners and 25 employees/`helpers', supplemented by 3 focus group encounters with different segments of the Somali business population.The findings indicate that a reliance solely on social capital explanations is not sufficient. An adequate understanding of business dynamics requires an appreciation of how Somalis mobilize different forms of capital within a given political, social and economic context.
195 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine whether interorganizational factors influence German biotech firms' propensity to internationalize by forming international research alliances, including dimensions of a firm's embeddedness within its local cluster and within its national research network.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on how the customer portfolios of technology-based entrepreneurial firms affect new product development and find that customer portfolio size has an inverse U-shaped relationship to the number of new products developed and the more relationally embedded the customer set, the more new products the firm develops.
Abstract: This article focuses on how the customer portfolios of technology-based entrepreneurial firms affect new product development. Drawing on knowledge-based, resource dependence, and relational theories, the authors argue that the impact of a firm's customers on new product development depends on the size and relational embeddedness of the customer portfolio and the extent to which the firm is dependent on one or a few dominant customers for a majority of its revenues. The authors test the research model using longitudinal data on young firms operating in business-to-business markets in six technology-based industries. The results indicate that customer portfolio size has an inverse U-shaped relationship to the number of new products developed and that the more relationally embedded the customer set, the more new products the firm develops. Dependence stemming from revenue concentration has a negative impact on new product output. Furthermore, the authors find that relational embeddedness can compens...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a theoretically informed consideration of the role of ethical campaigning in shaping organizational practices of power and authority in global production networks (GPNs) through a focus on responsibility, and the ways in which ethical consumption is challenging the organization of global networks of supply.
Abstract: This article presents a theoretically informed consideration of the role of ethical campaigning in shaping organizational practices of power and authority in global production networks (GPNs). It does so through a focus on responsibility, and the ways in which ethical consumption is challenging the organization of global networks of supply. The arguments draw upon and develop two geographical approaches to understanding transnational trade, namely the GPN framework and the study of commodity knowledge. First, understandings of ethical consumption and circuitous commodity knowledge are mobilized to capture the practices of knowledge translation through which ethics are woven into particular forms of supply network coordination. Second, through a comparative case study of UK and US corporate retailers’ ethical trading programmes, notions of embeddedness advanced by the GPN framework are used and further developed to illuminate how the mobilization of ethics into different forms of network coordination involves organizational processes influenced by spaces of retail and consumption. It is argued from this that the influences of retail and consumption should be more fully incorporated into analytical frameworks for understanding GPNs.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that exploration networks face a trade-off between diversity and selection, and that depending on the type of exploration task, exploration networks need to make a combination of density and tie strength in such a way that diversification and selection are aligned.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the conceptual lexicon of embeddedness conflates economic action and outcomes, insufficiently captures power and agency and produces a limited understanding of the spatialized development of economic activity.
Abstract: Embeddedness remains a central concept in much economic geographical thought for understanding how social factors influence economic activity. Recent commentators have argued for a reconceptualization that entails a relational and processual redefinition of the concept. This paper argues, however, that there remain deep-rooted epistemological problems with embeddedness that are not overcome by this emerging reconceptualization. It argues that the conceptual lexicon of embeddedness conflates economic action and outcomes, insufficiently captures power and agency and produces a limited understanding of the spatialized development of economic activity. It further argues that the language of embeddedness conceals dimensions to transnational business activity that require increasing theoretical attention in order to explain economic success or failure in the context of contemporary globalization. In contrast to those seeking to reconceptualize embeddedness, the paper thus argues for a relational and associational approach centred on tracing the practices that produce economic outcomes in the contemporary global space economy. This alternative approach draws on recent contributions to actor-network theory as well as relational and topological theorizations of the nature of power and knowledge in relation to economic activity. The arguments are grounded with reference to a series of examples drawn from research into the nature of contemporary transnational firms.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the space and scale of knowledge networks for innovation, and show that the territorialised innovation theories rest on simplistic perceptions of embeddedness and space, and on functional notions of proximity which treat the firms as black box.
Abstract: The objective of the paper is to discuss the space and scale of knowledge networks for innovation. The point of departure is a critical review of territorialised innovation theories according to which the source of growth and competitiveness is to be found in the innovative interplay among local actors and institutions. The region is believed to play a particular role as incubator or mediator for small firms. On this background the question raised is what globalisation and the emergence of time and space shrinking technologies imply to the spatial scale of knowledge networks. It is shown that the territorialised innovation theories rest on simplistic perceptions of embeddedness and space, and on functional notions of proximity which treat the firms as black box. The result is a considerable regional determinism. On the basis of recent network theory and empirical results, it is argued that firms do find knowledge sources on different spatial scales. Global networks or distant knowledge sources are particu...
TL;DR: In this article, the role played by transnational family networks in ethnic minority business development was investigated in the Vietnamese nail-care sector, and the authors found that the presence of innovative and well-educated members within the entrepreneurs' "strong tie" network appeared to encourage more successful business development and diversification.
Abstract: Purpose – This paper seeks to understand the role played by transnational family networks in ethnic minority business development.Design/methodology/approach – The Vietnamese nail‐care sector is taken as a case study. The research involved interviews with ten owner‐managers and four key informants involved in this industry in London. The analysis draws on concepts of “strong” and “weak” network ties and “mixed embeddedness” to explain why the Vietnamese continue to enter such a competitive sector.Findings – The results highlight the importance of transnational family networks within all aspects of the business and suggest that these links can sometimes provide a fertile source of new business ideas, but can equally limit innovation. The presence of innovative and well‐educated members within the entrepreneurs' “strong‐tie” network appeared to encourage more successful business development and diversification.Research limitations/implications – The research challenges the traditional “strong/weak” ties the...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose two mechanisms to encourage movement out of committed relationships in exchange value uncertainty conditions, such as when opportunism creates exchange hazards, which escalate in non-recurring transactions, leading tooverembedded exchanges.
Abstract: When there are constantly new, valuable opportunities to transact with alternative partners—a situation we refer to as exchange value uncertainty—long-term or committed transactions among the same individuals are discouraged. However, when opportunism creates exchange hazards, which escalate in nonrecurring transactions, individuals will be reluctant to take full advantage of the gains from switching to more valuable partners, thereby leading to “overembedded” exchanges. Instead of embracing new, valuable exchanges with strangers whose propensity to cooperate is uncertain, individuals may prefer to preserve recurring ties with familiar actors. Two mechanisms may encourage movement out of committed relationships in those conditions. First, formal contracts should serve as a safeguard to market participants, in the sense that they limit potential losses due to opportunistic behavior. Second, trust in general others (as opposed to trust in familiar people) reduces participants' perception of hazards in marke...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the transnational activities of first and second-generation immigrant entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and show that embeddedness in transnational networks remains important for the second generation, yet the extent of it is less compared to the first generation.
Abstract: During the past decade or more, transnationalism has become a central concept in migration literature However, research on the question of whether the second generation is transnationally involved remains limited, and is mainly focused on the cultural and not on the economic domain of transnationalism In this article I explore the transnational activities of first- and second-generation immigrant entrepreneurs in the Netherlands Analysis shows that embeddedness in transnational networks remains important for the second generation, yet the extent of it is less compared to the first generation This study points to the fact that not every entrepreneur is or can be transnationally active; ‘transnational capital’, which not everyone automatically possesses, is needed to be able to do business with the country of origin
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present results from a study that identified patterns of social interaction among small farmers in three agricultural subsectors in Bolivia and analyzed how social interaction influences farmers' behavior toward the adoption of pro-poor innovations.
Abstract: "This paper presents results from a study that identified patterns of social interaction among small farmers in three agricultural subsectors in Bolivia—fish culture, peanut production, and quinoa production—and analyzed how social interaction influences farmers' behavior toward the adoption of pro-poor innovations. Twelve microregions were identified, four in each subsector, setting the terrain for an analysis of parts of social networks that deal with the diffusion of specific sets of innovations. Three hundred sixty farmers involved in theses networks as well as 60 change agents and other actors promoting directly or indirectly the diffusion of innovations were interviewed about the interactions they maintain with other agents in the network and the sociodemographic characteristics that influence their adoption behavior. The information derived from this data collection was used to test a wide range of hypotheses on the impact that the embeddedness of farmers in social networks has on the intensity with which they adopt innovations. Evidence provided by the study suggests that persuasion, social influence, and competition are significant influences in the decisions of farmers in poor rural regions in Bolivia to adopt innovations. The results of this study are meant to attract the attention of policymakers and practitioners who are interested in the design and implementation of projects and programs fostering agricultural innovation and who may want to take into account the effects of social interaction and social capital. Meanwhile, scholars of the diffusion of innovations may find evidence to further embrace the complexity and interdependence of social interactions in their models and approaches." from Author's Abstract
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TL;DR: The authors argue that early legislative development can occur without significantly increasing conflict with established authorities and without winning autonomy, and that legislative embeddedness, as measured by clarified and expanded jurisdiction and increased capacity, is a product less of conflict than of executive support and attention.
Abstract: Evidence from medieval Europe and modern China suggests that cooperation with strong executives plays a larger role in early legislative development than is generally acknowledged: that under conditions of absolutism (or near-absolutism), acceptance and exploitation of subordination may be a means to organizational development. In this article, I rely primarily on interview data and Chinese field research to show that early legislative development can occur without significantly increasing conflict with established authorities and without winning autonomy. I further argue that legislative embeddedness, as measured by clarified and expanded jurisdiction and increased capacity, is a product less of conflict than of executive support and attention, and that support and attention in the early stages of organizational development can be understood in terms of a legislature's presence, its reliability and usefulness, and the political standing of its leaders. The paper's conclusion offers a new approach to early legislative development that shifts attention from conventional measures of institutionalization and hinges on understanding the process of embeddedness.
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TL;DR: The notion of institution suggests stability or at least an attempt at stabilization as mentioned in this paper, while the process of globalization is often associated with the breakdown of traditional rules of the game andinstitutions, in particular through the weakening of national states and their order-creating capacities.
Abstract: At a first level, the notions of ‘institutions’ and ‘globalization’ could appear to exclude oroppose each other. The notion of institution suggests stability or at least an attempt at stabilization. An institutionalist perspective startsfrom the basic recognition that human activities, including activities of an economic nature, are embedded and framed within larger institutional schemes that are, on the whole, quitestable (Weber 1978; Polanyi 1944). A core dimension of the institutionalist project has been to understand how embeddedness matters, how institutions constrain and structure action, create regularities and stability, limitingat the same time the range of options and opportunities. In contrast, the process of globalization is often associated with the breakdown of traditional rules of the game andinstitutions, in particular through the weakening of national states and their order-creating capacities. [First lines]
TL;DR: The authors assesses the overall social embeddedness of modern party politics and identifies newly emerging conflict-lines, drawing attention to phenomena that do not fit into the trend of dealignment, and discusses the relationship between group-based politics and democratic representation.
Abstract: As a result of various political and non-political developments, the socio-culturally anchored and well structured character of European party systems has come under strain. This article assesses the overall social embeddedness of modern party politics and identifies newly emerging conflict-lines. It draws attention to phenomena that do not fit into the trend of dealignment, and discusses the relationship between group-based politics and democratic representation.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the networks of project managers in an R&D environment and find that managers more often discuss success than failure, and use a greater variety of narratives to talk about success.
Abstract: How does social network position affect project managers' perceptions of success or failure? We analyze the networks of project managers in an RD managers more often discuss success than failure, and use a greater variety of narratives to talk about success. The results confirm the innovation management literature that emphasizes the multidimensionality of R&D success, and extends the embeddedness perspective on the social context of organizational behavior. Not only do social ties affect the information to which managers have access, but networks also shape their perspectives on the outcomes of innovative projects.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the assumed relation between return migration, sustainability and development, in particular the role of NGO assistance and government policy, and argue that a different approach to the relation between migration and development is needed both theoretically and policywise.
Abstract: This article focuses on the assumed relation between return migration, sustainability and development, in particular the role of NGO assistance and government policy herein. It is argued that a different approach to the relation between migration and development is needed both theoretically and policywise. Theoretically the need for a transnational approach based on the everyday epistemologies of refugees and their need for a sense of belonging is highlighted. Building on this, the article emphasises the importance of defining sustainability of return through the use of the concept of mixed embeddedness, and the different factors that influence this embeddedness. Policywise the current convenient application of the Siamese twins, Migration and Development, to involuntarily return is strongly criticised. In doing so the inconsistencies in governmental policy are emphasised. Lastly, the article calls for a more cautious way of linking migration and development, both by NGOs and governments.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the structure and strategies of Polish migrant entrepreneurship in Berlin in the 1990s, drawing on statistical data, in-depth interviews and a comparison to Turkish entrepreneurship, finding that the early orientation towards an open and transnational market among Polish entrepreneurs in comparison to the more local orientation of the ‘ethnic community' in the first period of Turkish entrepreneurship.
Abstract: This paper explores the structure and strategies of Polish migrant entrepreneurship in Berlin in the 1990s, drawing on statistical data, in-depth interviews and a comparison to Turkish entrepreneurship in Berlin. Existing research on the entrepreneurial activity of migrants and ethnic minorities tends to focus on processes observed solely within specific places in the country of immigration. I argue that further insights into the dynamics of ‘ethnic entrepreneurship’ are enabled by introducing the concept of transnational social space to the ‘mixed embeddedness’ perspective on ethnic business. This approach may explain the early orientation towards an open and transnational market among Polish entrepreneurs in comparison to the more local orientation of the ‘ethnic community’ in the first period of Turkish entrepreneurship. Four main entrepreneurial strategies of migrants from Poland can be observed: first, utilising a high degree of personal mobility and the differences in purchasing power between German...
25 Jul 2008
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of three levels of overembeddedness on subsequent inter-firm partnership formation are examined. But the authors focus on the "gloomy" side of firms' embeddedness in networks of interfirm partnerships, arguing that increases in firms embeddedness will generate decreasing returns to the firms involved, prompting the search for and attachment to novel partners and dissolution of extant partnerships.
Abstract: We discuss the ‘gloomy’ side of firms’ embeddedness in networks of inter-firm partnerships. We propose a nested understanding of the effects of three levels of overembeddedness – environmental, inter-organizational and dyadic overembeddedness – on subsequent inter-firm partnership formation and argue for a joint examination of these three levels and their interactions over time. As a whole, increases in firms’ embeddedness will generate decreasing returns to the firms involved, prompting (i) the search for and attachment to novel partners and (ii) the dissolution of extant partnerships. On the flipside, overembeddedness thus sparks network evolution – by cueing firms to look beyond their embedded partnerships.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the practices modern investigators group under the heading of "religion" did not compose a well-defined category in antiquity; instead, they claim that "Religion was embedded" in other aspects of ancient culture, and they use this notion of "embeddedness" to help us see that categories post-Enlightenment thinkers often regard as distinct (such as politics, economics, and religion) largely overlapped in antiquity.
Abstract: Scholars of ancient cultures are increasingly speaking of the "embeddedness" of ancient religion — arguing that the practices modern investigators group under the heading of "religion" did not compose a well-defined category in antiquity; instead, they claim that "religion was embedded" in other aspects of ancient culture. These writers use this notion of "embeddedness" to help us see that categories post-Enlightenment thinkers often regard as distinct (such as politics, economics, and religion) largely overlapped in antiquity. The trope of "embedded religion" can, however, also produce the false impression that religion is a descriptive concept rather than a redescriptive concept for ancient cultures (i.e., that there really is something "out there" in antiquity called "Roman religion" or "Mesopotamian religion," which scholars are simply describing rather than creating). By allowing this slippage between descriptive and redescriptive uses of "religion," the rhetoric of "embedded religion" exacerbates the very problem it is meant to solve.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the concept of interorganizational citizenship behaviors (ICB's) to address the need for an alternative symbiotic explanation for supply chain relationship effectiveness.
Abstract: Exchanges among firms operating in supply chains are complex due to relational embeddedness, i.e., the extent to which relationships, rather than economic rationality, govern firm-to-firm interactions. For many years interfirm relationships were assumed to be best managed via coercive tactics. However, for the last two decades much attention has been given in the literature to more relational forms of governance, and recent supply chain research examining relationship nature, magnitude, and type implies the need for an alternative symbiotic explanation for supply chain relationship effectiveness. To address this void in the literature, this article introduces the concept of interorganizational citizenship behaviors (ICB's). Based on a review of literature from multiple business domains, common types of ICB's are identified, and research hypotheses are developed and tested. Future research initiatives and implications for supply chain management practice are also provided.
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of transnational law firms is used to develop a more subtle understanding of the way the influence of the national varieties of capitalism and the institutional legacies associated with them embed workers and create national peculiar work methods and practices.
Abstract: Relational economic geographies highlight the importance of focussing upon the multiple embedded actors influencing transnational economic activities. This paper incorporates but also moves beyond existing discussions of regulatory embeddedness and embeddedness in nationally-specific consumer markets and, using the case study of transnational law firms, begins to develop a more subtle understanding of the way the influence of the national varieties of capitalism and the institutional legacies associated with them embed workers and create national peculiar work methods and practices. The paper argues that, for law firms, literatures exploring the national systems of the professions, when coupled to understanding gleaned from studies of the varieties of capitalism, can be used to understand the influences upon the behaviours and norms of workers. When also connected to understanding of the peculiarities of management in professional firms this helps explain the approaches to globalization and governance used by transnational law firms. Using empirical data collected through interviews, the paper develops a typology of the different strategies used in different institutional contexts. It also shows that globalization has led to changing national systems, something which means the governance approaches used by transnational law firms vary over space and time.