Diasporic and Transnational Internationalization: The Case of Brazilian Martial Arts

Abstract

Brazilian diasporas overseas has received little academic interest. Nevertheless, estimates suggest that around three million Brazilians currently live in other countries. The present study looks at a specific type of diaspora: small entrepreneurs from the Brazilian martial arts sector. The study adopts the case study method of research. The unit of analysis is comprised by the martial arts (capoeira and Brazilian jiu-jitsu). Data analysis used secondary and primary data from interviews. Cross-case analysis searched for similarities and differences in the internationalization processes of the two martial arts, using several analytical devices, such as chronologies, timelines, matrices, and pattern matching analysis. Evidences suggest that the concept of diasporic internationalization fits better capoeira than Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, Brazilian jiu-jitsu shows an initial combination of diasporic and transnational characteristics, but more recently became fully transnational. Brazilian jiu-jitsu became a truly global business, formally organized and professionally managed. Capoeira, however, is still seen as non-commercial and as the preservation and practice of an ancient art. Such ethos, combined with the origin of its members in lower economic classes and their restricted access to capital turns internationalization into an often less profitable activity.

Orientação de Mercado para Pequenas e Médias Empresas de Imigrantes Brasileiros no Exterior

“…(4) confronto com a literatura existente sobre as comunidades étnicas brasileiras (Bloem, 2015;Teixeira & Souza, 2014;Teixeira, 2014;Rocha, Esteves, Mello, & Silva, 2015), e outros grupos étnicos, tais como: chineses, mexicanos, dominicanos www (Portes & Zhou, 1992), portugueses (Teixeira, 2001) Após a realização de múltiplos métodos para a coleta de dados, com predominância das entrevistas em profundidade, conforme relatado na seção anterior, foram extraídas várias citações, como exemplos de percepções e de comportamentos típicos dos empreendedores (Etapa 1). Na Etapa 2, foram identificados dois macrotemas, que emergiram das citações: "percepções de comunidades étnicas" e "orientação empresarial".…”

“…No caso brasileiro, os exemplos são as churrascarias-rodízio, o açaí, o treinamento de artes marciais (jiu-jitsu), os serviços de depilação e manicure, e os vários tipos de biquini sexy, todos tipicamente tupiniquins (Teixeira, 2014;Rocha, Esteves, Mello, & Silva, 2015). Além disso, a oportunidade empreendedora recebe um fator de facilitação: uma demanda criada pelo próprio desejo de conhecer ou de experimentar essa novidade.…”

“…No caso das comunidades brasileiras, destacam-se alguns produtos e serviços, como o ensino de capoeira, ou de produtos menos conhecidos, como pastéis fritos e pães de queijo. (Rocha, Esteves, Mello, & Silva, 2015).…”

Trajetórias do empreendedorismo imigrante e estratégias de mercado a partir das experiências de brasileiros no exterior

“…Além das fontes de literatura acadêmica consultada e enunciada na seção de "Referências Teóricas", os pesquisadores valeram-se de uma robusta coleta de evidências por meio de várias estratégias, ao longo de seis anos de campo, conforme demonstrado na tabela 1. Bloem, 2015, Margolis, 1995Martes, & Rodriguez, 2004;Sasaki, 2006;Sales, 2005;Rocha et al, 2015).…”

Mexican capoeira is not diasporic! – On glocalization, migration and the North-South divide

“…Still, the present article was in large part inspired by the work of Delamont and Stephens, who have spent almost 13 years analyzing capoeira in the UK and other regions of the Global North using a twohanded ethnography approach. In one of their early papers [Stephens & Delamont 2008: 58], they introduced the notion of , which became a central element in their later works and a reference to many other scholars [see : Joseph 2012;Rocha et al 2015;Wulfhorts, Rocha & Morgan 2014;Aula 2017]. They mention three main aspects of diasporic capoeira that distinguishes it from glocalized practices (like hip-hop):…”