Organizações & Sociedade

Development Administration and the Expansion of Management Education in the Brazilian Context: a Study Based on the Trajectory of UESB's Administration Course

Samuel Santos Oliveira — 2025-12-27

The historical process of implementation, diffusion, and transformation of Administration courses in Brazil is a subject that still deserves attention. The teaching of management is an academic and professional field in constant evolution, influenced by global trends, local challenges, and economic and geopolitical dynamics. One example is the (re)emergence of Development Administration (DA), a subfield of Administration that aims to study the management of social relations of production, distribution, and consumption in countries, regions, places and/or organizations, in order to ensure the well-being of society (Santos et al., 2018). This article aims to establish the connection between Development Administration and the expansion of management education in the Brazilian context, based on a decolonial analysis of administrative thought, with emphasis on the trajectory of the Administration Course at UESB. This is a qualitative study applied to the trajectory of an Administration Course in the interior of the State of Bahia. The research relies on semi-structured interviews, documentary records, and content analysis, supported by Atlas.ti 23 software. Finally, the results reveal that DA continues to promote the expansion of management ideology, reinforcing a discourse that contrasts "us" – developed, civilized, and administrators – with "them" – underdeveloped and administered.

Post-structuralism and the Zero Degree of Organization: implications for Organizational Studies

Maria Fernanda Rios Cavalcanti — 2025-12-27

The present study addresses the epistemological position of post-structuralism in Organizational Studies (OS), which goes against post-modernism and structuralism, and sheds light on its significant methodological implications. The research deepens into ambiguity to differentiate poststructuralism from post-modernism by highlighting post-structuralism’s epistemological rupture with structuralism. Scarcity of structuralism references in post-structuralist analyses is pointed out as key element in the literature. Post-structuralism epistemological peculiarity was disclosed by applying the concept of 'zero degree' by Deleuze and Cooper, and it was done by underlining its relevance at OS scope. The article also identifies and discusses emerging topics in this field by providing guidelines for future research. This analysis substantially helps improving organizational
studies by providing important insights into these complex approaches. This statement is particularly relevant for the Brazilian context, where post-structuralism-based empirical research remains in its early stages and seeks to consolidate its legitimacy.

Ideas, Beliefs, and Discourses: the Dispute Between Political Entrepreneurs and Defense Coalitions in Brazilian Agrotoxins Policy

Raoni Maurício da Fonseca Lemos Duarte — 2025-12-27

This research analyzed how advocacy coalitions competed for greater influence over Brazil's agrotoxins policy from 1999 to 2018. The premise was that changes in public policy are effected through changes in institutions, or the rules of the game. A theoretical approach was proposed that articulates the Advocacy Coalition Framework, New Discursive Institutionalism, and the Gradual and Transformative Institutional Change Model. A literature search and document analysis were conducted, emphasizing the usefulness of shorthand notes from meetings and public hearings in parliamentary committees, as well as interventions by parliamentarians in the National Congress. The collected data were then subjected to a content analysis based on a priori defined categories. Four hundred and sixteen individual and organizational agents were mapped, forming three advocacy coalitions defined by shared ideas: agroproductivists, agroecologists, and technocrats. The work of political and institutional entrepreneurs and policy brokers linked to the advocacy coalitions during this period was also characterized. Finally, the discursive strategies, behaviors, and types of gradual and transformative institutional change adopted by each advocacy coalition were described by analyzing key events in a timeline. The findings suggest that the entrepreneurs, as representatives of the coalitions, were interested in promoting changes to the scope of agrotoxins policy and the institutions that influence it. The main contribution of this research was outlining the coalitions' strategies and understanding the role of entrepreneurs as representatives of the coalitions.

Epistemological Obstacles in Organizational Studies: Considerations based on Gaston Bachelard

José Henrique de Faria — 2025-12-27

Based on the understanding of epistemology as the production of knowledge – that is, as an epistemological act – this essay aims to critically elaborate considerations on epistemological obstacles in organizational studies, drawing on the arguments of Gaston Bachelard. To this end, the obstacles have been organized into three categories of analysis: (a) the descriptive empiricist obstacle, which includes first experiences; (b) the mystical idealist obstacle, which includes general knowledge, verbalism, and unitary and pragmatic knowledge; and (c) the methodological technicist obstacle, which includes substantialism and quantitativism. We will address the question of how epistemological obstacles manifest in organizational studies in view of the growing prevalence of empirical-descriptive studies, studies and models based on idealistic conceptions, and the valuation of methodological technicality, which takes precedence over the reality being investigated. The reflections point to the abundance of studies that: (a) focus on the immediate appearance of phenomena with little depth or criticism; (b) focus on broad, vague, and imprecise concepts; (c) use theoretical references as limiting assumptions for developing scientific knowledge; and (d) promote methodologism, emphasizing the correct application of specific techniques at the expense of the intended content.

Beyond Public Service: Analysis of Volunteering by Employees of Federal Higher Education Institutions

Izabele Cristina Linhares Diniz Ariete — 2025-12-27

The increasing demand for socially responsible actions by organizations emphasizes the importance of activities such as volunteer work, which is a valuable resource in tackling major social challenges worldwide. In the business sector, this activity is known as corporate volunteering and adds complexity to the phenomenon, as it involves aspects related to the organizational environment. The willingness of organizations across the three social sectors to encourage such practices raises challenges for their wider adoption. Specifically, within public service, contextual factors may differ from those in the private sector, such as the need for legal compliance, the lack of organizational pressure to gain benefits from volunteering, and issues related to public careers that could influence voluntary participation in initiatives promoted by institutions. Therefore, the present study aims to examine how contextual and motivational factors influence employees of Federal Higher Education Institutions (IFES) to engage in volunteering. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining quantitative data gathered through a questionnaire with qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that the motivations of public servants in Higher Education Institutions are shaped by a combination of altruistic, social justice, affiliative, learning, and self-interested factors, with altruism and social justice being particularly significant for the population studied. Additionally, regarding contextual factors, elements such as organizational citizenship, institutional and coworker support, and the potential to make a social impact may motivate them to volunteer.

Subjective Experiences of Affective Relationships in Succession Processes in Family Businesses

Claudia Helena Costa de Oliveira Zambroni — 2025-12-27

This article aims to understand the subjective experiences of affective relationships between successors and predecessors in the succession process of family businesses. Qualitative research using the thematic oral history method was employed to explore this phenomenon. Data were collected in five companies through interviews with ten entrepreneurs (five parents and five children) who had experienced the succession process. The data analysis followed the procedures of sociological discourse analysis (SDA), based on the Spanish tradition. The results revealed three dimensions of the subjective experience of affective relationships: love and renunciation, frustration and resentment, and forgiveness. These findings underscore the complexity of affective relationships between predecessors and successors within the contexts of both business and family. They also highlight the affective dynamics between parents and children from a psychoanalytic perspective, emphasizing the contribution of work psychodynamics as a theoretical lens for understanding the succession process in family firms. It can be concluded that subjective
experiences are intrinsic to the relationships between predecessors and successors, forming a bidirectional relationship between family and organizational experiences that influence each other mutually. These experiences may result in suffering, anguish, pleasure, or desires, all of which are felt and manifested in the lives of the parent, child, predecessor, and successor. Future studies could explore other subjective dimensions of the succession process, such as power dynamics, gender relations, attachment issues, and conflicts among successors.