Gestão intercultural em micro e pequenas empresasestratégias de integração entre gestores chineses e equipes brasileiras

Resumo

This study investigates how cultural clashes manifest themselves between Chinese executives in leadership positions and Brazilian operational workers in micro and small enterprises located in Brazil, while also examining how strategies of cultural adaptation, communication, and management may help reduce tensions and foster cooperation in the workplace. To this end, the guiding research problem is to understand how cultural differences between Chinese executives in leadership roles and Brazilian operational workers are expressed in the everyday life of micro and small enterprises in Brazil, and which managerial strategies may contribute to mediating the tensions arising from these differences. From a theoretical standpoint, the study brings together different contributions from the intercultural management and organizational studies literatures. First, it draws on studies of national cultural differences, especially Hofstede’s cultural dimensions model, used here as an initial heuristic framework for understanding contrasts between Brazil and China in relation to hierarchy, collectivism, temporality, uncertainty, and relational expressiveness. Second, it incorporates the literature on guanxi, understood as a relational logic central to the Chinese context, grounded in accumulated trust, ongoing reciprocity, loyalty, and moral obligation. Third, it engages with the debate on the Brazilian jeitinho, understood as a culturally situated mode of mediation between rules and relationships, marked by situational flexibility and practical accommodation in response to concrete circumstances. Fourth, the study integrates contributions on intercultural communication, leadership, trust, cultural diversity in teams, and cultural intelligence, thereby constructing an analytical framework capable of linking broader cultural differences to the organizational practices effectively observed in the empirical field. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative, interpretive approach, involving semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation, complemented by field notes. The analytical treatment of the material was conducted inductively, drawing inspiration from Grounded Theory. The main contrasts identified revolve around efficiency and performance, communication, authority, recognition, and leadership style. On the one hand, Chinese managers tend to associate good performance with speed, standardization, operational discipline, and adherence to procedures. On the other hand, Brazilian workers place greater emphasis on clarity of instructions, quality of interaction, interpersonal respect, and the need to understand the meaning of a task before carrying it out. In this context, efficiency does not emerge as a neutral category, but as a culturally situated and relationally contested construct. The findings indicate that intercultural leadership is built on unstable ground between control and relationship: Chinese managers tend to preserve traits of greater discipline, close supervision, and strong goal orientation, yet, through their interaction with Brazilian teams, many begin to adjust their modes of communication, recognize the importance of praise, provide fuller explanations, and moderate their initial rigidity. The analysis also revealed a central paradox between productivity and relational bonding. The results further show that multiculturality operates as a continuous process of cultural adaptation and translation. In addition, the study demonstrates that the context of micro and small enterprises acts as an amplifying factor in these processes. Low formalization, centralized decision-making, the absence of robust institutional mediating mechanisms, and the close proximity between management and operations mean that cultural differences are experienced more directly, with less institutional buffering and with greater dependence on concrete day-to-day interactions. While this intensifies noise, tension, and conflict, it also creates room for faster adjustments and more immediate forms of mediation, provided that management is willing to engage in listening, translation, and the construction of reciprocal intelligibility.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Dissertação

Ano

2026

Instituição

Fundação Getulio Vargas

Fonte

Repositório da FGV

Idioma

Português

Acesso

Acesso aberto

Identificador

oai:repositorio.fgv.br:10438/39169

Temas

EconomiaDesenvolvimento Econômico

Palavras-chave

Gestão interculturalCultura organizacionalLiderançaMicro e pequenas empresasBrasil-ChinaAdministração de empresasComunicação interculturalCultura organizacional - Estudos interculturaisTrabalhadores estrangeirosBrasil - Relações - ChinaODS 8: Trabalho decente e crescimento econômico