In Brazil, in the state of Santa Catarina, on the Florianópolis area, is located the malacocultura cluster, formed by micro and small firms and independent producers. Despite institutional support, favorable environmental features and economic conditions, it presents some management problems which affect their competitiveness and are mostly related to the behavior of its members, reflected in their way of being, acting and thinking, conditioned by their culture. Do these local cultural characteristics would be an obstacle to the formation of a tourism cluster in the region, activity that also share favorable environmental and economic conditions, but has not yet managed to be organized in a collaborative way? This paper seeks to draw an analogy between what happens in the malacocultura activity and the tourism sector, based on results of a case study that interviewed forty-three individuals from different segments of malacocultura cluster, including some related to tourism and found that the local culture, predominantly of Azorean origin, has strong traits of individualism, tolerance for uncertainty, indulgence, short-term orientation and accommodation, which affect competitiveness, governance and management of firms.