Editorial.
| Autor | de Farias, Salomao Alencar |
| Cargo | Editorial |
The Brazilian Little Way in Academia
The academic knowledge on Administration is largely developed in North America and Europe - WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) geographic locations. Other locations around the world tend to use WEIRD research standards to identify quality in academy, including standards for publication. It is well known that standards follow us in our lives, both personal and professional, and they are shaped by culture, among other things. WEIRD scholars are the gatekeepers for publishing in more competitive top-tier journals, the ones with high standards for accepting an article for publication, with better quality and higher impact factor. The pressure for publishing in the USA for instance, is relevant both for getting a position in a university, as well to maintain that position over the years.
Is following North American and Europe standards for publication legitimate or should we have our own standards, taking into account our culture and how it shapes Brazilian society? Brazilians have a unique way of doing things that can surprise unaware foreigners: the Brazilian little way (jeitinho), which goes in almost everyday activity. "It is cultural. Jeitinho is a social mechanism widely used in Brazilian society as problem-solving strategy" (Duarte, 2006, p. 509). I have experienced some forms of jeitinho as editor of BAR, luckily not too often.
But is it possible to expect jeitinho among Brazilian scholars? If we can't escape culture, sooner or later one of us in academia will be practicing it in some of our activities: research, teaching or publishing. The Brazilian little way is not necessarily something bad or illegal, it has to do with flexibility or informality in our relationships. But if we are to follow international standards for publication in top journals, are we allowed to use this cultural construct? Considering the conversations I have had with some colleagues over the years, we can find jeitinho in academia in Brazil, for instance in slicing a dissertation into as many articles as possible with our advisees due to the quantity of articles we must publish per year. The dilemma of quality versus quantity, a constant debate in our academy, can lead to practice of jeitinho. Is the path to focus more on quality than quantity in a country with a unique culture like Brazil?
Sandstrom and Besselaar (2016) have an intriguing perspective on quantity versus quality of publication when...
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