<b>THE INFLUENCE OF NATIONAL CULTURE DIMENSIONS ON OPERATIONAL DISCIPLINE IN BRAZILIAN OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY</b>
Creators: name: Lafraia, João R B
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2023
Subjects: classificationCode: 440107
subject: Social and cultural anthropology
classificationCode: 441008
subject: Sociology of culture
classificationCode: 441001
subject: Applied sociology, program evaluation and social impact assessment

description: This research aims to advance the understanding of what organizations generally refer to as "behavioral factors" or "intangible aspects" in analyzing the causes of sustainable results in the workplace and other factors related to leadership and culture. Despite their importance in business management, the factors that influence the relationship between national culture and operational discipline dimensions in the sector have yet to be addressed by extant literature, a shortcoming this research addresses. Based on Stakeholder Theory, Contingency Theory, and Hofstede's National Culture Dimensions, using a mixed-methods approach, such as N=31 focus groups with experts in the sector and Structural Equation Modelling, testing 19 hypotheses; this study is motivated to investigate a considerable power distance. Strong uncertainty avoidance with low trust produces an organizational context in which the development of personal autonomy and personal discipline is jeopardized by the lack of involvement of the subordinates in the continuous improvement of rules and procedures, thus reducing operational discipline, that would increase chances of accidents in Brazil. This thesis is comprised of three articles. Article One revealed that the national culture of a country has a direct positive influence on the governance of the corporations of that country. It also showed the mediating effect of governance over the national culture on ESG results. Article Two evidenced that the national (power distance, collectivism, and trust) and organizational (engagement, empowerment, independence, autonomy) culture dimensions influence safety related operational disciple practices in an Oil and Gas company in Brazil. Article Three revealed that individualism measured by the voice construct and uncertainty (risk) avoidance predict operational discipline. Our model shows that uncertainty avoidance, voice, and power distance correlate. The conclusion is that there is no study correlating these three variables with operational discipline. Later observations indicate that this correlation may vary according to national culture. The implications regarding National Culture Dimensions revealed that countries of small power distance and weak uncertainty avoidance are somehow affected by a higher complacency with operational discipline. This work provides a new perspective on the operational discipline prevention methodologies adapted to national cultures. From a cultural perspective, the present research aims to deepen the knowledge about the taxonomy of the lack of operational discipline in the context of Brazilian Oil and Gas organizations. It is helpful to decision-makers, scholars, and other practitioners. The study's significance sets the grounds for future research in the area. It would assist leaders in better understanding why Brazilian organizations have a higher accident rate. Social sciences are rarely adopted as an explanatory source for such high rates.