Sigmar Malvezzi

Comparing Regional Cultures Within a Country: Lessons From Brazil

In this joint article we test the common assumption that a measure of culture developed for the national level can also be used for comparing regions within a country. Three different research projects independently measured culture differences within the Federal Republic of Brazil, all three using a version of Hofstede’s Values Survey Module (VSM). The largest provided separate scores for all of Brazil’s 27 states, the next largest for 17 of the more populous states. Factor analyses of VSM item scores across states in both cases only very partly replicated Hofstede’s cross-national dimension structure; only Individualism versus Collectivism reappeared clearly. We attribute this lack of fit to a restriction of range of VSM item scores among states within a common Brazilian national culture. The item scores did show a cultural clustering of states that fairly closely followed the administrative division of the country into five regions. The culture profiles for these regions show remarkable differences between the Northeast with its Afro-Brazilian roots and the North with its native Indian roots. On the issue of comparing regional cultures, we found the VSM, based on global differences, too coarse a net for catching the finer cultural nuances between Brazilian states. Adding locally defined items would have made the studies more meaningful to Brazilians.

Paradigmas, eixos temáticos e tensões na PTO no Brasil

Work and organizational psychology paradigms, thematic streams and tensions in Brazil. The great theoretical and methodological diversity of Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP) approaches in Brazil reflects the presence of distinct scientific paradigms in the setting of boundaries and the organization of this field. The purpose of this paper is to analyze these paradigms and relate them with three WOP thematic streams in Brazil: the behavioral stream; the subjectivity stream; and the clinical stream. We investigate epistemological and methodological fundamentals, some studies and authors in each of these streams, discussing their contribution to the field of WOP in Brazil. The paper discusses the stresses that exist among these streams, which arise from the pressure of corresponding at once to academic rigor and organizational relevance criteria. Finally, the article shows the diversification of the field of WOP in Brazil and resulting challenges.