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Theory	Main propositions	Applications to SafeCare
Transaction cost economics	• Transaction costs influence whether an organization decides to contract with another organization to implement an EBI. • Decreases in transaction frequency will increase the likelihood that organizations will contract with other organizations to implement an EBI. • Past relationships between organizations reduce the uncertainty and costs associated with contracting.	Adoption: • Child welfare systems’ decision to contract with CBOs to administer EBIs rather than acting as direct EBI providers internally was likely influenced by costs. • The cost of EBI administration is driven by the frequency of collaboration between CBOs and child welfare systems and the familiarity of child welfare systems with CBOs.
Institutional theory	• Organizations implement EBIs that are viewed as legitimate by institutions within their environment. • Organizations adopt certain EBIs in response to coercion or strong pressures to comply with rules, mandates, and regulations. • Organizations mimic the behaviors and structures of other successful organizations such as adoption of certain EBIs. • Organizations will adopt EBIs that align with professional norms.	Adoption: • Child welfare systems’ decision to adopt SafeCare was likely influenced by pressure from policymakers to provide EBIs, perceptions that SafeCare was viewed as a norm, and advocacy from child welfare professional communities for use of SafeCare. Sustainment: • Efforts to maintain SafeCare contracts may have coerced CBOs to sustain SafeCare by establishing rules, regulations, and mandates set forth in contracts. • The contracts garnered support for SafeCare, creating normative pressure on CBOs to sustain SafeCare.
Contingency theories	• Organizations’ design decisions are contingent upon the organization’s internal and external contexts. • Successful EBI implementation is influenced by whether the EBI fits with an organization’s internal context. • Organizations’ ability to adapt to their external context influences successful EBI implementation.	Implementation: • The use of ICTs allowed child welfare systems to respond to external contexts such as local client needs. • Internal context influenced implementation as larger, governmental organizations had less flexibility in how SafeCare could be implemented.
Resource dependency theory	• Organizations’ design decisions are informed by their dependence on other organizations, ability to maintain autonomy, and relationships with other organizations. • Organizations form relationships with other organizations to acquire and maintain resources and autonomy.	Implementation: • CBOs depended on the organizations that funded them and SafeCare developers (for expertise), which lessened their autonomy and power. • CBOs often negotiated the balance of autonomy and dependence on other organizations by establishing relationships via ICTs, which minimized the resources individual CBOs needed to implement SafeCare. Sustainment: • Policymakers could have earmarked funds for contracts that would have supported SafeCare to obtain sufficient resources for SafeCare sustainment. • Train-the-trainer models decreased CBOs’ dependence on SafeCare developers so that their staff could autonomously sustain the practice without.