Cultural portability of informal practices: from Brazilian jeitinho to Portuguese cunha

Cross-cultural corruption studies show that behavioral expectations, national reputations, and home-country corruption levels shape corrupt behavior. However, research predominantly focuses on explicit and market forms of corruption, paying less attention to ambiguous, widespread practices. This study addresses these gaps by examining jeitinho, a Brazilian repertoire of rule-bending practices enacted through personal skills and relationships. It assesses how Brazilian migrants in Portugal interpret and navigate jeitinho-like behaviors in a normative context where analogous practices, such as cunha, exist. Drawing on 28 in-depth interviews with Brazilians living in Portugal, the study explores how migrants perceive, adapt, or reject these practices across contexts. This research contributes to the corruption literature by advancing an understanding of normative conflict and cultural adaptation in corruption-related behaviors. It offers a more nuanced account of how informal practices persist, transform, or lose legitimacy across closely connected societies.