Once again, the question of place: local, global, or glocal?

Brazilian journals are currently facing a number of dilemmas: publishing topics of local interest versus producing knowledge for a universal science, pressure to publish in English versus producing research (and articles) in the local language, and attracting articles by talented Brazilian researchers who, under pressure from their institutions, prefer to publish in international journals.

The goal of any academic journal is to disseminate the production of knowledge and, depending on the quality of that knowledge, increase its own visibility. However, academic journals cannot be held responsible for all the aforementioned problems, which are the result of a number of complex factors. These may include, for example, the relationship between graduate programs and the agencies that regulate quality assessment metrics, and the complicated relationships that exist between different social actors, such as professors, students, editors, program coordinators and academic congresses. The academic community specializing in Business Administration needs to be in constant dialogue in order to respond to the need for scientific rigor and good research practices, to satisfy local interests and to produce universal knowledge that benefits society as a whole. Indeed, as we know, reality is socially constructed and the system is the product of all the stakeholders who sustain it. Management is a component of Applied Social Sciences and, as such, it should necessarily contribute to an improvement in people's living standards, a point always worth remembering. An article is one of the possible outcomes of any research project, and, for an article to reach the publication stage, several steps, involving numerous actors may be necessary.

In addition to debates within the graduate programs, other initiatives could help reinforce these steps: academic congresses, for example, could provide workshops to foster writing and publishing competences among Masters' and Ph.D. students, and stress to the new generations that they need to adopt scientific rigor and ensure that their research is relevant to the country. At the same time, academic journals could further encourage Brazilian authors to contribute creative solutions to local problems, as well as stimulate the use of forums that encourage collaboration between Brazilian and foreign researchers. Finally, such journals should carry out meaningful revisions in order to improve the quality of their articles, and at the same time invite senior research professors to contribute with their reflections to different academic debates.

Coincidentally, two articles in this present issue contribute to the debate on these questions, but from different perspectives. Olavarrieta evaluates the quality of Latin American academic journals and shows that, among other criteria, publishing works that are relevant, with sophisticated methodologies and which discuss trends is still the best alternative for academic journals, instead of twisting and turning to try to increase the impact factor. Another conclusion of the article is that journals with an English title tend to attract greater attention. The brand of the publishing institution is also a relevant factor. The author recommends that editors increase their journals' perceived quality by means of a set of actions that include real benefits for authors, such as time of reply, and, particularly, the quality of article reviews. There is no doubt that these recommendations are pertinent to our local academia. However, the question of the language used is not a trivial one: our "mongrel complex", the taste for foreign things, non-creative reproduction, and lack of appreciation of national references have been highlighted for decades by a number of Brazilian researchers, including Machado-Da-Silva, Cunha and Amboni (1990), Bertero, Caldas and Wood Jr. (1999), Rodrigues and Carrieri (2001), Vergara and Pinto (2001), among others. We need to "decolonize the mind" and, at the same time, contribute to building universal knowledge. It is true that the articles in this issue are in English and Spanish, but this is not the key question. Renowned poets have had their poems translated from Polish, Portuguese and Russian into different languages, signifying that they have something important to say. We can publish in Portuguese, Spanish or English, but the essential thing is for us to be able to contribute to the production of knowledge in such a way that is relevant both locally and globally. This is the subject of the reflections of Letícia Moreira Casotti and Maribel Carvalho Suarez, in the area of consumer culture theory. Their debate extends beyond this specific field, however, and asks the questions: how can one encourage Master's students in Administration to read conceptual articles? How can one stress the importance of theoretical abstractions to the understanding of social reality? Using examples of consumer culture theory, Casotti and Suarez discuss how one can achieve universal recognition by speaking about one's own village.

Along the same lines, the other articles in this issue deal with subjects that are important to our local reality: Renê Birochi and Marlei Pozzebon, in Improving Financial Inclusion: Towards a Critical Education Framework, based on a study in the Brazilian Amazon, propose ways through which IT-based financial education can have an impact on low-income entrepreneurs and lead to social emancipation. The article by Thadeu Gasparetto and Angel Bajaras deals with the economics of sport based on a comparative study of soccer championships. Antonio Benedito de Oliveira Jr., Felipe Mendes Borini, Roberto Carlos Bernardes and Mauro José de Oliveira surveyed 101 Brazilian companies, and argue that entrepreneurial orientation and strategic alliances should be used to improve company performance, particularly regarding small and medium-sized enterprises. In these studies, the authors begin with local experiences, but then move on, proposing models that exceed the empirical description. Finally, the study by Eduardo Acuña and Matias Sanfuentes looks at a classic but always relevant topic, namely the question of organizational identity.

This issue concludes with a review of John Hartley, Jason Potts and Suart Cunnigham's book, Key Concepts in Creative Industry, and with a recommended bibliography on executive compensation and entrepreneurship in the creative industries

Pleasant reading!

Maria José Tonelli | Editor-in-Chief
Professor at the the Getulio Vargas Foundation's School of Business Administration of São Paulo - São Paulo - SP, Brazil

Referências

• Bertero, C. O., Caldas, M. P., & Wood Jr., T., (1999). Produção científica em administração de empresas: Provocações, insinuações e contribuições para um debate local. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 3(1), 147-178.
• Machado-Da-Silva, C. L., Cunha, V. C., & Amboni, N. (1990). Organizações: O estado da arte da produção acadêmica no Brasil Encontro da Associação Nacional dos Programas de Pós-graduação em Administração, Florianópolis, SC.
• Rodrigues, S. B., & Carrieri, A. D. P. (2001). A tradição anglo-saxônica nos estudos organizacionais brasileiros. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 5(SPE), 81-102.
• Vergara, S. C., & Pinto, M. C. S. (2001). Referências teóricas em análise organizacional: Um estudo das nacionalidades dos autores referenciados na literatura brasileira. Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 5(SPE), 103-121.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  May-Jun 2016