Indigenizing Brokerage: How Western Brokers Bridge Environment and Nature Worldviews in Global Market Relations

Brokering between actors such as Indigenous producers and Western multinationals participating in global market relations typically requires bridging different worldviews, each with different implications for economic activity: a ‘nature’ worldview where production is often limited to preserve ecological balance, and an ‘environment’ worldview where nature is a resource to be exploited. Given these differences and the traditional hegemony of Western actors, the question of whether and how brokers can facilitate market relations that are beneficial for Indigenous and Western actors alike becomes pressing. Building on recent decolonial literature that has highlighted the possibility of rendering traditionally Western‐dominated market relations ‘more Indigenous’ or ‘less colonial’ and cultural brokerage scholarship, we conducted a case study of a Western consulting firm brokering between an MNC and Indigenous communities in Costa Rica. Based on an effective brokering process after a perceived crisis point, we theorize the model of ‘Indigenizing brokerage’ to explain how brokering between the two worldviews can lead to mutual benefits through three interrelated processes. Contributing to the literature on cultural brokerage and decolonial scholarship, the model introduces a much‐needed framework to better understand what ‘more Indigenous’ could mean in global market relations and adds insights into supply chain brokerage.