Brazilian culture |
“Jeitinho” |
The Brazilian style or “jeitinho” is the way found to weasel out of impersonal forms, especially laws and norms that govern personal relations (Da Matta, 1991Da Matta, R. (1991). A casa e a rua. São Paulo: Brasiliense.). It is an ambiguous mechanism that allows reconciling personalist and formalistic characteristics found in the Brazilian people (Holanda & Cândido, 1978Holanda, S., & Cândido, A. (1978). Raízes do Brasil. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.) and according to the reading of Chu & Wood (2008Chu, R. A., & Wood, T., Jr. (2008). Cultura organizacional brasileira pós-globalização: global ou local? Revista de Administração Pública, 42(5), 969-991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008000500008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008...
, p. 4), it allows for a “double reading, which may mean a conformist behavior of living with the unjust and unacceptable status quo and can be seen as a way of surviving daily life, a recourse of cultural resistance,” which is corroborated by Lee Park et al. (2018)Lee Park, C., Fracarolli Nunes, M., Muratbekova-Touron, M., & Moatti, V. (2018). The duality of the Brazilian jeitinho: an empirical investigation and conceptual framework. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 14(4), 404-425. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-04-2017-0022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-04-2017-...
. |
Inequality of power and hierarchy |
In Brazil it is common for people to judge themselves with special rights who exempt themselves from following the same laws and generalizing norms made “for others” that led to the creation of the popular expression: “Do you know who you are talking to?” (Chu & Wood, 2008Chu, R. A., & Wood, T., Jr. (2008). Cultura organizacional brasileira pós-globalização: global ou local? Revista de Administração Pública, 42(5), 969-991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008000500008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008...
). For Freire (1998)Freire, G. (1998). Casa Grande & Senzala. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Record., the inequality that exists in the master-slave relations of the Brazilian colonial society profoundly marked the country's social construct, resulting in this behavioral pattern. Inequality also found in the organizational environment with a strong hierarchical structure and autocratic decision-making processes (Freitas et al., 2019Freitas, D. C., Oliveira, L. G., & Alcântara, R. L. C. (2019). A theoretical framework to adopt collaborative initiatives in supply chains. Gestão & Produção, 26(3), e4194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-530x-4194-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-530x-4194...
; Chu & Wood, 2008Chu, R. A., & Wood, T., Jr. (2008). Cultura organizacional brasileira pós-globalização: global ou local? Revista de Administração Pública, 42(5), 969-991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008000500008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008...
; Chu, 2020Chu, R. A. (2020). Modelo contemporâneo de gestão à brasileira. São Paulo: Cengage Learning.) |
Flexibility |
For Chu & Wood (2008Chu, R. A., & Wood, T., Jr. (2008). Cultura organizacional brasileira pós-globalização: global ou local? Revista de Administração Pública, 42(5), 969-991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008000500008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008...
, p. 4), “the flexibility that permeates behaviors in organizations in the country translates into people’s adaptability and creativity.” This characteristic results largely from the need to deal with the most diverse crises of a political, social, and/or economic nature (Budde et al., 2019Budde, J. S., Scherer, L. A., Cassanego, P. V., Jr., & Vargas, K. S. (2019). Cultura Brasileira de Gestão: um estudo em uma Universidade pública do Rio Grande do Sul. Revista Gest@o. Org, 17(1), 17-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.21714/1679-18272019v17Ed.p17-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.21714/1679-18272019...
). This flexibility, which allows rapid adaptation to new situations, discourages following recipes and manuals (Chu, 2020Chu, R. A. (2020). Modelo contemporâneo de gestão à brasileira. São Paulo: Cengage Learning.). Activities that require a notion of order, constancy, and precision, so well executed by some nations, in Brazil are often downplayed and considered of minor importance, suffering from adaptations, “jeitinhos,” and shortcuts (Holanda & Cândido, 1978Holanda, S., & Cândido, A. (1978). Raízes do Brasil. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.; Vieira et al., 2002Vieira, F. G. D., Crubellate, J. M., Silva, I. G., & Silva, W. R. (2002). Silêncio e omissão: aspectos da cultura brasileira nas organizações. RAE Eletrônica, 1(1), 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-56482002000100015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1676-56482002...
; Nicodemo, 2014Nicodemo, T. L. (2014). Intérpretes do Brasil: clássicos, rebeldes e renegados. São Paulo: Boitempo.) |
Plasticity |
According to Holanda & Cândido (1978)Holanda, S., & Cândido, A. (1978). Raízes do Brasil. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras., the Portuguese colonizer is different from other colonizers because of the absence of a feeling of racial superiority, which favored miscegenation and the genuine interest in the new and exotic. This plasticity favors the easy adoption of foreign practices and customs, as can be seen by the agricultural techniques used in the colony that were strongly influenced by the Indian and African practices (Nicodemo, 2014Nicodemo, T. L. (2014). Intérpretes do Brasil: clássicos, rebeldes e renegados. São Paulo: Boitempo.). For Chu & Wood (2008Chu, R. A., & Wood, T., Jr. (2008). Cultura organizacional brasileira pós-globalização: global ou local? Revista de Administração Pública, 42(5), 969-991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008000500008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008...
, p. 4), “historically and traditionally, adopting foreign concepts and references in management by the organizations in Brazil is made without criticism, which reveals the high degree of permeability of the nation to what is developed abroad. However, it is necessary to emphasize that such assimilation may occur in some cases only superficially, deceiving a less attentive observer and indicating a facade behavior.” |
Personalism |
Lomnitz (2009)Lomnitz, L. A. (2009). Redes sociais, cultura e poder. Rio de Janeiro: E-papers. highlights the importance of the networks of family members, friends, and acquaintances for solving problems and/or obtaining some kind of advantage or privilege in Latin American societies. Personal relationships and interests stand out in general and community interests (Chu, 2020Chu, R. A. (2020). Modelo contemporâneo de gestão à brasileira. São Paulo: Cengage Learning.), using informal mechanisms to pass legal limits, reserved for the “anonymous, isolated citizen without relations” (Chu & Wood, 2008Chu, R. A., & Wood, T., Jr. (2008). Cultura organizacional brasileira pós-globalização: global ou local? Revista de Administração Pública, 42(5), 969-991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008000500008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008...
, p. 5) |
Formalism |
Existence of a large number of laws, rules, norms, and procedures that seek to reduce risk, ambiguity, and uncertainty, increasing control over people's behavior and action (Lee Park et al., 2018Lee Park, C., Fracarolli Nunes, M., Muratbekova-Touron, M., & Moatti, V. (2018). The duality of the Brazilian jeitinho: an empirical investigation and conceptual framework. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 14(4), 404-425. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-04-2017-0022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cpoib-04-2017-...
; Barros & Prates, 1996Barros, T., & Prates, M. (1996). O estilo brasileiro de administrar. São Paulo: Atlas.). Apparently contrary to personalism, these characteristics seem to be compatible through the “jeitinho,” as proposed by Da Matta (1991)Da Matta, R. (1991). A casa e a rua. São Paulo: Brasiliense., resulting in discrepancies between what is written and what is actually done (Chu & Wood, 2008Chu, R. A., & Wood, T., Jr. (2008). Cultura organizacional brasileira pós-globalização: global ou local? Revista de Administração Pública, 42(5), 969-991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008000500008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-76122008...
). This characteristic results in the creation of a number of activities and control mechanisms in organizations (Barros & Prates, 1996Barros, T., & Prates, M. (1996). O estilo brasileiro de administrar. São Paulo: Atlas.). |
Brazilian infrastructure |
Legal and tax complexity |
The complexity of legislation and taxation in Brazil can be organized into five themes: complexity, legal vulnerability, customs, tax wars, and regulation (Moraes & Souza, 2014Moraes, M. H., & Souza, F. A. (2014). Logística tributária e fiscal: aspectos tributários e fiscais no cotidiano das operações logísticas. São Paulo: Editora MAG.) |
Poor quality of transport infrastructure |
Inefficiency of the customs clearance process, cargo tracking, delivery deadlines, and ease of finding freight at competitive prices, aggravated by the imbalance between transport modes with an excessive concentration on the road modal (Marchetti & Ferreira, 2012Marchetti, D. S., & Ferreira, T. T. (2012). Situação atual e perspectivas da infraestrutura de transportes e da logística no Brasil. BNDES 60 Anos - Perspectivas Setoriais, 2(1), 235-270.) |
Inadequate professional training |
Shortage of professionals with quantitative training and less experience than peers in other countries (experience of 11 years in Brazil versus 20 years in the US - Ferreira, 2013Ferreira, L. J. (2013). Perfil do Profissional de Logística no Brasil. In XIX Fórum Internacional de Supply Chain. Rio de Janeiro: ILOS.) |