Global Talent Management in Brazil: Jeitinho as a Managerial Talent

In this chapter, we explore the concept of Brazilian jeitinho, showing that it can be a managerial talent and way to improve the integration of globally distributed teams. The jeitinho is a typical Brazilian trait, and is also a social mechanism characterized by an immediate view, directed towards short-time results, with an emphasis on crisis solutions. With data from a case study conducted at Volvo 3P, we show how the Brazilian jeitinho can be understood as a cultural characteristic and as a talent which provides flexibility in dealing with interpersonal relations inside teams, improving their integration and in consequence their performance. In the first part of the chapter, we present the context analysis, the research question and the structure of the chapter. In the second part, the state of the art is presented, focusing on Global Talent Management and on the research that led to the empirical data. We also present the company in which the data collection was performed – Volvo 3P. Next we explain the method, data collection and data analysis procedures. In the third part, we focus on jeitinho, explaining its origins, positive and negative aspects, and analyzing several facets of this ‘Brazilian cultural trait’, as well as its implications for the cultural adaptation and integration. Next we focus on jeitinho as a managerial talent, exploring and analyzing the elements that contribute towards the development of the managers’ flexibility, based on the case study conducted at Volvo 3P. Finally we conclude, outlining and synthesizing our findings and managerial implications.