Hutton, M., & Heath, T. (2025). A Discomforting Pedagogy of Poverty: Discourses, Representations and Vulnerabilities. Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385251380772This article proposes a “pedagogy of discomfort” for teaching about poverty, aiming to challenge normalized views and stigmatizing assumptions. The authors argue that poverty is a form of “difficult sociological knowledge” that requires students and educators to move beyond their comfort zones and critically examine how systems of meaning sustain inequality.The framework is structured around three analytical tools. First, discourses encourage students to identify and question dominant narratives that frame poverty as an individual failure, revealing embedded prejudices and emotional biases. Second, representations focus on critically analyzing media and cultural portrayals that reinforce stereotypes, prompting students to recognize their own complicity in these narratives. Third, vulnerabilities connect learners with lived experiences through real-world cases and community voices, reducing “othering” and fostering a sense of shared human vulnerability.The authors conclude that sustaining discomfort within a supportive environment promotes deeper critical reflection, challenging individualistic perspectives and enabling students to engage more meaningfully with structural inequalities.

Almeida, D. C., Afonso, P., Ferreira, L. P., & Soares, A. M. (2026). Exploring the longitudinal impact of entrepreneurial education on entrepreneurial competences and intentions: evidence of an asymmetric polarization effect. International Journal of Management Education, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2025.101291This study examines the longitudinal impact of entrepreneurship education (EE) on the development of entrepreneurial competencies (EC) and entrepreneurial intentions (EI) among university students. The research uses a quasi-experimental longitudinal design with pre- and post-tests involving 84 students from six Portuguese universities. The theoretical framework combines the Competency-Based Approach, used to assess skill development, and the Theory of Planned Behavior, which explains entrepreneurial intention as a predictor of action.Results show that the EE course had a strong and statistically significant positive effect on all competency dimensions (Cohen’s d = 0.80). Improvements were observed in creativity and opportunity recognition, personal resources such as resilience and leadership, specific knowledge including financial and digital literacy, and action-oriented skills like planning, decision-making, and teamwork. However, no overall increase in entrepreneurial intentions was detected. Instead, the study identified a positive asymmetric polarization effect, where EE strengthened existing positive intentions rather than generating new ones. The findings highlight EE’s broader value in developing transferable skills beyond startup creation.

Krüger, C., Pennabel, A. F., Paschoalotto, M. A. C., Guimarães, F. H. C. B., Medeiros Kruger, N. R., Meneguzzo, M., Passador, C. S., & Ferreira Caldana, A. C. (2024). Framework for cross-border governance: from cross-border critical factors to sustainable development. Public Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2443061This article develops a framework and practical model for cross-border governance (CG) aimed at promoting sustainable development (SD) in border regions, which are often characterized by peripheral status and weaker socioeconomic indicators. Based on a systematic literature review and expert interviews, the study identifies key factors that either constrain or enable effective cross-border problem-solving. These factors are organized into four main dimensions: territorial (geo-historical, cultural, and border permeability features), resources (financial support, human capital, and infrastructure), institutional (intergovernmental relations, stakeholder participation, and stable power-sharing arrangements), and political-regulatory (strategic planning, legal instruments, and policy continuity). From this analysis, the authors propose the Critical Factors Framework for Cross-Border Governance (CFCG) and the Cross-Border Governance Model for Sustainable Development (CGSD). The CGSD model outlines three phases—preparation, construction, and implementation—structured into eight practical steps. The study contributes actionable guidance for policymakers seeking to connect governance structures with tangible social, economic, and environmental sustainability outcomes across diverse border contexts.

Coelho, A. P., & Loureiro, G. (2025). Do earnouts create the right incentives? Earnings management around earnout-based acquisitions. Journal of Financial Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfir.70007This article examines whether acquiring firms engage in earnings management during earnout periods in mergers and acquisitions. Using a sample of 517 U.S. acquisitions with earnout clauses between 1998 and 2017, compared with nearly 4,000 transactions without earnouts, the study finds systematic evidence of downward earnings manipulation. Acquirers reduce reported performance during the earnout period to lower contingent payments to target shareholders, decreasing payouts by an estimated US$3.5 to US$5.25 million. The manipulation occurs mainly through real activities, such as increasing discretionary expenses in R&D or sales, since these actions are harder to detect than accrual-based adjustments. However, in short earnout periods, managers rely more on accruals due to their immediate impact. Incentives for downward manipulation are stronger in cash-financed deals, while stock-based payments mitigate such behavior because target shareholders become owners and monitor performance. The retention of target managers limits real manipulation but not accrual adjustments. Overall, earnouts create agency problems requiring stronger monitoring mechanisms.

Ratten, V., Newman, A., Palacios-Marqués, D., Mckeown, T., Casais, B., Prentice, C., Nuñez-Sánchez, J. M., Liñán, F., Stanton, P., Le, H., Aseri, M. A., & Walton, S. (2026). 30th birthday celebrations: Views from the top about future management research and practice. In Journal of Management and Organization. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2025.10073This article commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Journal of Management & Organization by gathering reflections from leading scholars on the past achievements and future directions of management research. It emphasizes the societal importance of management studies in fostering organizational effectiveness, evidence-based decision-making, and sustainable development. Influential contributions highlighted include stakeholder theory, psychological safety, exploration versus exploitation, and service-dominant logic, all of which reshaped modern management thinking. The discussion underscores management as an evolving, interdisciplinary field, while warning against the “ivory tower” gap between academia and practice and advocating for more engaged scholarship. Looking ahead, the field is expected to be transformed by artificial intelligence, human–technology integration, hybrid work models, and sustainability-driven business models. Ethical governance of algorithms and the redesign of organizations to enhance human capabilities will be central concerns. The article concludes that, as AI automates technical tasks, management may experience a renaissance as an art grounded in judgment, empathy, and ethical leadership.

Ramos, F., Tavares, A. F., & da Cruz, N. F. (2026). Between promise and practice: a scoping review of the democratic outcomes of youth participation in local governance. Children and Youth Services Review, 181, 108738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108738This article presents a scoping review of 48 empirical studies on youth participation in local governance across 24 countries, examining the gap between its democratic promise and institutional practice. The literature identifies five main rationales for youth participation: improving public policies, defending rights, fostering civic skills, strengthening democracy, and promoting youth empowerment. Using Nabatchi and Amsler’s framework, the study assesses outcomes at individual, community, and governmental levels. Positive effects are strongest at the individual level, where young participants report increased civic engagement, leadership skills, confidence, and political knowledge. At the community level, youth contribute to expanding civic space and improving access to public services. However, outcomes at the governmental level are more contradictory. While youth input can enrich policymaking, participation is often symbolic, marked by limited deliberation, weak representation, and lack of real decision-making power. The study highlights a “participation–power paradox”: youth engagement succeeds as personal development but rarely reshapes governance structures. Effective participation requires meaningful deliberation, accountability mechanisms, and genuine power-sharing.

Barbosa, N., & Faria, A. P. (2026). Science and productivity in European firms: how do regional innovation modes matter? European Planning Studies, 34(1), 84–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2025.2570922This article, published in European Planning Studies (2026) by Natália Barbosa and Ana Paula Faria, investigates how scientific knowledge and regional innovation modes influence firm productivity growth across Europe. Using data from 150,712 manufacturing firms located in 161 NUTS II regions in 19 European countries between 2012 and 2017, the study applies the Capello and Lenzi taxonomy to classify regions into five innovation modes, ranging from science-based to imitative innovation. The findings show that scientific knowledge significantly boosts productivity, particularly in Southern European regions and, to a lesser extent, in Eastern Europe, supporting a science-driven convergence process. However, the effects are heterogeneous: highly productive and fast-growing firms benefit most from scientific spillovers, while less productive firms can still achieve efficiency gains through imitation-based strategies. Applied smart innovation modes also emerge as key drivers of long-term productivity growth. The authors conclude that innovation policy should recognize diverse regional innovation paths and strengthen firms’ internal capabilities to absorb external knowledge.

Pinho, J. C., Fontes, A., & Santos, G. G. (2026). Balancing the double-edged sword of artificial Intelligence: Job demands, resources, and Work–Life balance. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 21, 100924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100924This study applies the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) framework to examine the “double-edged sword” effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on employee well-being. Using survey data from 280 professionals, it shows that AI simultaneously functions as a job resource and a job demand. On the one hand, employee–AI collaboration reduces repetitive work and cognitive load, enabling employees to focus on more meaningful tasks, which increases work engagement and improves work–life balance (WLB). On the other hand, AI awareness—particularly fears of job loss and skill obsolescence—acts as a hindrance demand that lowers engagement and psychological safety. The findings reveal that work engagement mediates the positive relationship between AI collaboration and WLB and is a necessary condition for achieving high WLB. Interestingly, AI awareness positively moderates the collaboration–engagement link, suggesting that close collaboration can transform perceived threats into challenge demands. The study highlights AI as a job redesign opportunity requiring human-centered implementation and transparent communication.

Martins, A., Silva, A. P., Gomes, D., & Cruz, D. (2025). Robotic process automation: implementation in a multi-municipal water supply and sanitation company. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBAFM-09-2024-0182This study analyzes the implementation of Project Sophia, a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) initiative at Águas do Norte S.A. (AdN), a Portuguese public water and sanitation utility. The research aims to understand why a public-sector organization adopted RPA and how the process unfolded under the influence of internal and external actors. Launched in 2019, Project Sophia generated 26 subprojects between 2019 and 2024, mainly in administrative and financial areas, with 12 processes successfully automated by March 2024. Adoption was driven by institutional pressures, including coercive demands for regulatory compliance, normative influences from New Public Management principles, and mimetic pressures from successful RPA implementations elsewhere. Implementation followed an institutional work perspective, highlighting the agency of key actors such as the IT director, project manager, and external consultants. Despite challenges related to public procurement rules, budget constraints, system rigidity, and staff turnover, the project delivered significant benefits in efficiency, data accuracy, compliance, and the reallocation of employees toward higher-value analytical tasks.

Esteves, R. B., & Carballo-Cruz, F. (2025). A general framework for retailer competition under elastic demand and quantity-dependent transport costs. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104358This paper develops a general framework for spatial retailer competition by extending the classic Hotelling model to incorporate elastic demand and quantity-dependent transport costs. Unlike traditional models with fixed purchase quantities, consumers here adjust the amount bought in response to prices, while transport costs increase with both distance and quantity. A key innovation is the elasticity parameter that captures how transport costs scale with the purchased quantity, allowing the model to differentiate between bulky and lightweight goods. The analysis shows that standard results on spatial differentiation still hold: greater differentiation relaxes competition and raises prices, while more elastic demand intensifies price competition. However, quantity-dependent transport costs crucially shape market outcomes. When transport costs rise strongly with quantity, as for bulky products, consumers are less willing to travel, reducing competitive pressure and increasing local market power and profits. For lightweight goods, transport costs depend mainly on distance, intensifying competition and lowering prices. The framework offers insights for pricing strategies and highlights potential welfare concerns from localized monopolies.