This article draws on the evidence gathered from a corporate social responsibility (CSR) research project in the area of global information technology (IT) outsourcing to examine the impact of liminality. IT outsourcing offers a novel context to study this phenomena, as it operates across the boundaries of both firm and country. The case study focuses on the specific project of a school in India, as the liminal space found ‘betwixt and between’ the client and provider of IT outsourcing services. Three stages of liminality are identified: separation (divestiture), transition (liminality) and incorporation (investiture); through the interpretive analysis of the empirical material. The construct of communitas is proposed for analysing the impact of liminality on the relationship between an outsourcing client and the provider. The understanding of liminality and communitas has both theoretical and practical implications, and contributes to the understanding of relationships and the wider role of CSR in global IT outsourcing.

中文翻译：

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探讨企业间外包关系中的界限对企业社会责任的影响

本文利用从全球信息技术 (IT) 外包领域的企业社会责任 (CSR) 研究项目中收集的证据来检验阈值的影响。IT 外包为研究这种现象提供了一个新的背景，因为它跨越了公司和国家的边界​​。该案例研究侧重于印度一所学校的特定项目，因为在 IT 外包服务的客户和供应商之间发现了界限空间。确定了阈限的三个阶段：分离（剥离）、过渡（阈限）和合并（授职）；通过对经验材料的解释性分析。提出了communitas 的结构来分析阈值对外包客户和供应商之间关系的影响。