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Culture profoundly influences how people think, communicate, and behave. Successful cross‐cultural negotiations require an understanding of the negotiation style of those on the other side of the table, and the acceptance and respect of their cultural beliefs and norms. The focus of this paper is to identify the styles of negotiation that tend to be adopted by Brazilian negotiators. Participants were 683 experienced negotiators from 22 Brazilian states. The Brazilian style of negotiation is described based on seven culturally sensitive dimensions that are present in negotiations: the nature of the activity, the role of the individual, uncertainty and time, communication, trust, protocol, and outcomes.

This paper puts forth a conceptual framework of multiple and fluid national culture focused on the contemporary Brazilian context. Drawing from recent criticism on the excessive determinism and simplicity of typical cross‐cultural depictions, the study (1) analyzes Brazilian contemporary culture from a historical perspective; (2) summarizes prevailing Brazilian cultural depictions in the literature; (3) proposes a conceptual framework centered on the dynamics between cultural differentiation and homogeneity, putting forth predictions on the potential future shifts of the Brazilian cultural texture along these two extremes; and (4) makes the case for culture research focused further on the study and depiction of multiple national cultures, and on their fluidity over time, rather than on monolithic and stable national cultures.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Brazilian literature about national and organizational culture.

A postmodern epistemological perspective is taken to discuss culture, focusing first on its contribution to the analysis of culture within organizations. Then the central ideas in the articles published in Brazilian periodicals and congresses, between 1991 and 2000, which talked about Brazilian organizational culture, are presented and an attempt is made to outline their fundamental characteristics.

The majority of studies which deal with Brazilian culture, and which have been developed within the context of management, analyze the theme in a homogeneous manner and do not take into account the plurality and heterogeneity within the country and organizations.

Postmodern approaches to discussion of culture seem to be important in dealing with cultural contexts (national and organizational) where nuances and variations cannot be ignored without serious political and social implications.

The purpose of this study was to explore an innovative strategy for studying the Brazilian negotiator’s unique and paradoxical characteristics from a cultural point of view to acquire a better understanding of the nature of international business negotiations in Brazil.

The study is of a qualitative nature, using a multiple-case study design at three levels (small-, medium- and large-scale negotiations). Interviews were conducted with Brazilian and German managers to capture the emic–etic view of the Brazilian negotiator. The Strategic Trinity Model was developed to assess the behavior of the Brazilian negotiator in agreement with three metaphors: “African Capoeirista”, “Portuguese Bureaucrat” and “Indigenous Warrior”.

The three roles “African Capoeirista”, “Portuguese Bureaucrat” and “Indigenous Warrior” comprised similar as well as contradicting characteristics. The Brazilian negotiator chose naturally and even paradoxically from these role features, effectively negotiating any given situation, context and time. During the pre- and post-negotiation phases, traits of the “African Capoeirista” and “Indigenous Warrior” were the most salient. During the formal negotiation phase, however, the characteristics of the “African Capoeirista” and “Portuguese Bureaucrat” dominated.

International business negotiations in Brazil call for an in-depth comprehension of the paradoxical roles that local negotiators take on to achieve better negotiation outcomes.

The present study unveiled the contradicting Brazilian negotiating style in international business negotiations, thus acquiring a better understanding of the negotiation process in the Brazilian market.

Literature has long been discussing indigenous forms of informal practices whose cultural origins are concealed. We first seek to provide a contextualization of the importance of an informal practice that is salient within the Brazilian culture – the Brazilian jeitinho. We then provide a historical background of the jeitinho, as well as an attempt to come up with a definition of the construct, which is by no means a definitive one. We explore how the jeitinho plays a role in the Brazilian organizational scenario, which may be useful for international companies aiming to do business in the country. Finally, we present a set of recommendations as how to deal with jeitinho in organizational-related occasions, drawing on the Brazilian historian Sérgio Buarque de Holanda's “cordial man” concept, which suggests that the roots of Brazilian culture lie in the patriarchal environment of the colonial period. We do not have in this chapter the intention of characterizing the multiplicity of Brazilian business practices, what would be an impossible task to accomplish in light of the enormous diversity of social contexts in Brazil. What we present in the chapter are some concepts and tools for working with and, fundamentally, understanding the organizational and social process the Brazilian context, which we hope may be useful for those interested in doing business in or with Brazil.

This paper discusses the evolving nature of the symbolic meaning of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Exploring the kratophanous power of soccer in Brazil, we seek to explain how the relationship that Brazilians had with the 2014 FIFA World Cup reflects profound changes in a mutating society that has deep emotional connections with soccer but at the same time has started to reject the misuse of public resources and struggles to see corruption as a fact of life.

The authors conducted a netnography on Facebook communities and on Instagram, reviewed documentaries and short films, as well as press articles on the subject. Data was collected both retrospectively and concurrently. Analysis used open coding, moving up from the emic meanings extracted from the texts to an etic account of the phenomena (Cherrier & Murray, 2007; Thompson, 1997; Thompson & Haytko, 1997).

We argue that the duality of the Brazilian culture and the kratophanous power of soccer help understand the evolving nature of the relationship Brazilians had with the 2014 FIFA World Cup. We sustain that soccer in Brazil is viewed both as a sport – representing democracy and the hope of social mobility – and as an industry – echoing dissatisfaction with the status quo. Even if ideologically opposed to what the event represented, consumers were bound by very strong cultural connections built around soccer as a sport, a national passion. This changing nature of feelings and attitudes echoes marketplace tensions of a country passing through a democratization maturity process and of a culture in which its citizens find it easier to attempt to be many things at the same time than to take a stand.

This research analyzes the role of social tensions and national passions in relation to a global industry (soccer) and a mega event (the FIFA World Cup). We have looked at the influence of macro cultural forces and tension forces in a sporting event as our findings cannot be understood outside the context of network-based power (Labrecque, vor dem Esche, Mathwick, Novak, & Hofacker, 2013) with Brazilians mobilizing the structure of social networks in favor of their contextual interests. The tense and dynamic political environment in which this research was conducted shed some light on why the #naovaitercopa changed its meaning overtime.

The context of this research contributes to the literature on boycotting (Kozinets & Handelman, 2004; Lee, Motion, & Conroy, 2009), considering that most previous studies had not extensively explored situations where protests arise, obtain significant engagement, yet end up being unsuccessful. We answers the call made by Izberk-Bilgin (2010) for understanding how and why consumer attitudes toward certain types of consumption may change overtime and we demonstrate how the FIFA World Cup possesses kratophanous power in Brazil, and how this characteristic, which is strongly rooted in local culture, contributed to the failure of the boycott.

This paper aims to analyse the relationship between knowledge management processes and innovation (KM-IN) in Brazilian and Portuguese companies.

The tests were performed using a sequential mixed-method approach. Quantitative analysis was conducted using 341 observations from Brazilian and Portuguese companies and partial least squares techniques. Qualitative analysis was conducted using ten interviews and content analysis techniques.

Results showed differences between Brazilian and Portuguese companies with respect to the relationship between knowledge sharing process and innovation. Portuguese companies cope with the geographical dispersal of operations and the lack of interpersonal skills by introducing formal knowledge sharing processes.

Findings demonstrate that the transfer of knowledge processes to foreign countries may demand adjustments according to cultural traits. Specifically, the findings will be of interest to firms intending to expand their activities between Brazil and Portugal.

Although researchers have investigated the influence of the national context in many countries, country comparisons are still scarce.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the aspects of the organizational culture (OC) of companies operating in the Brazilian oil, gas and biofuels (O&G) sector based on semistructured interviews with managers of these organizations and its content analysis.

This research was conducted based on semistructured interviews with 12 managers of Brazilian O&G companies and analyzed with a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software, namely, MAXQDA™.

The results make it possible to obtain the perception of managers about OC, generally understood as a set of attributes and variables of social order, supported by the historical–culturalist theoretical approach. Information about the explicit and implicit manifestation of culture, as well as the evaluation of the most appropriate research instruments and metrics, were also obtained after the interviews.

This study presents detailed results about OC and its characteristics in the perception of managers of the O&G companies that operate in the Brazilian market.

The purpose of this paper is to explore what mechanisms a leader uses when promoting change towards a corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework in the particular context of the Brazilian culture.

This is a qualitative case study undertaken at a private forest management company located in the South of Brazil, which draws on in-depth interviews with employees (n=12) and analysis of secondary data. Content analysis supported by Atlas TI software.

First, this study illustrates the importance of transformational leadership as an internal organisational antecedent for successful organisational change towards CSR practices and policies. This is particularly because this transformation was grounded in moral values, which were used by the leader to build trust, inspire and motivate followers. Second, this case study provides a glimpse into the implementation of CSR practices in a Brazilian organisational setting, suggesting that characteristics that are typical of the national culture reinforce the importance of the leader as a role model, inside and outside the firm, in various realms of the employees’ lives.

The study makes a contribution in extending the understanding about the relationship between leadership and CSR in the context of Brazilian culture. However, as a qualitative case study, findings from this research should not be generalised. Results must be understood in light of the specific conditions in which the case is embedded.

The paper identifies key messages for international companies interested in promoting change in their Brazilian businesses or operations. It also stimulates reflection on the issue of dependency on the leader and eventual challenges regarding continuity and succession.

The paper offers an in-depth analysis of leadership challenges and mechanisms in an organisation embedded in the Brazilian culture.