  Let $I: L' \to L$ be a morphism of $L_\infty$-algebras. The goal of this
paper is to describe restriction of scalars in the setting of
$L_\infty$-modules and prove that it defines a functor $I^*: L\text{-mod} \to
L'\text{-mod}$. A more abstract approach to this problem was recently given by
Kraft-Schnitzer. In a subsequent paper, this result is applied to show that
there is a well-defined $L_\infty$-module structure on the sutured annular
Khovanov homology of a link in a thickened annulus.
