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This paper aims to systematize the contextual factors that influence the intention to use citizens and governments-initiated platforms, presenting them as non-functional requirements (NFRs), to facilitate their understanding to implementers.

A systematic mapping of the literature was done to identify the contextual factors from citizens and governments (C2G) adoption, followed by a survey applied to 938 potential users of this type of technology. The results were analyzed through logistic regression to understand the impact of the contextual factors on the intention to use C2G platforms and then those contextual factors were formalized as NFRs represented by a Softgoal Interdependence Graph.

Among the results, the most prominent factors were the influence of the “users perceived contribution” and the “citizens concern about the city conditions”. Finally, some strategies are suggested to help public managers and developers to optimize the factors that have shown to be significant.

This study can support e-gov policies in the implementation of C2G platforms because several municipalities need assistance in taking actions to foster greater citizens’ engagement. An example of this type of contribution is the indication of the factors of greatest impact in the adoption of use and the indication of paths to be followed if the manager and developers decide to focus on each of them.

The identification of several contextual factors which influence C2G platforms adoption and their systematization with the purpose of jointly visualizing and evaluating them.

The rapid advancement in information and communication technologies (ICTs) has brought enormous business opportunities as well as challenges. One of these challenges is the demand for ICTs skills and expertise in adopting and implementing these emerging technologies. Coping with skills shortage poses a serious challenge across all European countries. Lack of ICTs skills and knowledge is more evident in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). As training is regarded as the most effective way of improving skills and enhancing knowledge, this paper attempts to address skills shortage at pan‐European level by identifying SMEs’ needs on ICTs training in the UK, Portugal and Poland. The investigation focuses on the most needed training areas, the required training levels and the preferred training delivery channels. The paper summarises findings from three‐country investigations and highlights the implications of findings for the design and development of a Web‐based training system for the use of ICTs in SMEs.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

The purpose of this paper is to interpret the use of accounting information relating to the House of Correction, a public safety institution established in Rio de Janeiro for the control of workers under a tutelage system (1831–1864). The aim of the House of Correction was to develop a disciplined workforce of former slaves and other “Free Africans”. Various control and information procedures were put in place to monitor its achievement of this goal.

This study is based on historical archival research, mainly conducted at the National Archive of Rio de Janeiro and at the Brazilian National Library. The study uses Althusser’s ideology concept and the Marxist concept of reproduction of labour to show how accounting information enabled the administrator of the House of Correction to exercise control over the “Free Africans” consistent with the ideologies of the period and place.

The authors find that the House of Correction pursued a policy of ensuring “Free Africans” were docile, obedient and familiar with State ideology.

The research is based on a single case study and it shows the need for both comparative and interdisciplinary analysis in order to increase an understanding of the use of accounting information in ancient prison contexts, as well as in contemporary situations.

This paper extends our knowledge of the use of accounting for the control of workers, who were either captive or repressed due to their ethnical differences; and it shows how ideology can be imposed through the use of accounting information. The authors extend theory by applying the Marxist and Althusserian concept of reproduction of labour to the case of “Free Africans”.

To investigate the extent to which the contracting mechanisms instituted by the 2004 reform, in particular power auctions, have solved the investment hurdles created by the first reform.

The paper analyses the characteristics of Brazilian contracting and the experience so far with power auctions, concerning investments in generation and electricity prices.

Auctions have been moderately successful, in the sense that they have attracted a fair number of bidders and electric companies have increased their value in the stock exchange, while keeping prices moderate. However, a number of other hurdles to investment – in particular clear and feasible criteria for environmental licensing – have to be solved in order to achieve the reform goals.

The format of power auctions is still going through a learning process; also, the experience has been limited so far, which severely hinders the use of quantitative tools. This could be the object of future research, after more data are available. Of particular interest will be the follow‐up of free bilateral contracting, which has grown significantly.

This could be a useful reference for scholars interested in the recent developments in the Brazilian Electricity Supply Industry.

As far as is known, this is the first paper to systematically analyse the performance of power auctions in the Brazilian market. Its value lies in that it allows an objective evaluation of one central point of the 2004 reform.

This study aims to analyze the influence of future expectations of the book-to-market ratio (B/M) and return on equity (ROE) in explaining the Brazilian capital market returns.

The study analyzed the explanatory power of risk-factor approach variables such as beta, size, B/M ratio, momentum and liquidity.

The results show that future expectations of the B/M ratio and ROE, when combined with proxies for risk factors, were able to explain part of the variations of Brazilian stock returns. With respect to risk factors approach variables, the authors verified the existence of size and B/M effects and a liquidity premium in the Brazilian capital market, during the period analyzed.

This research was limited to the non-financial companies with shares traded at Brasil, Bolsa and Balcão, from January 1, 1995 to June 30, 2015. This way, the conclusions reached are limited to the sample used herein.

The evidences herein presented can also contribute to establishing investment strategies, considering that the B/M ratio may be calculated through accounting information announced by companies. Besides, using historical data enable investors, in a specific year, to calculate the predictor variables for the B/M ratio and ROE in the next year, which enhance the explanatory power of the current B/M, when combined in the form of an aggregate predictor variable for stock returns.

The main contribution of this study to the literature is to demonstrate how the expected future B/M ratio and ROE may improve the explanatory capacity of the stock return, when compared with the variables traditionally studied in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to present a proposal for structuring the use of problem-based learning (PBL) as an active teaching strategy and assess PBL’s implications for student learning in the undergraduate management degree program of a federal university in Northeastern Brazil. PBL can turn students into active subjects in their own learning and promote the development of decision-making abilities through the identification and analysis of real problems.

The study follows the assumptions of qualitative research and uses the action research approach. The data were collected through reflective reports (texts freely written by students describing their experiences in a course) and through interviews. The collected material formed the basis for analysis and discussion of the results using content analysis.

The results indicate that the PBL teaching strategy has positive implications for student learning in that it promotes the integration of theory and practice, which enhances the motivation to learn. The students perceived the practical aspect, teamwork and presence of an entrepreneur/manager in the PBL classes as factors facilitating learning. By contrast, teamwork and the time involved were seen as factors limiting learning.

The use of PBL demonstrates its potential for learning through the integration of students’ cognitive, behavioral and social dimensions, fostering closer integration with the context of professional activity. The presence of entrepreneurs/managers who present real problems to be analyzed by the students in the classroom can contribute significantly to the promotion of learning and reflection by undergraduate management students.

The results of this study reveals its originality and value to management education in Brazil because it defines a framework for the implementation of PBL as an active learning strategy in a management program, it indicates the potential of PBL for the development of students’ competencies, it increases the potential for integrating theory with professional practice and it can aid the process of training teachers as they assess the implications of PBL for student learning.

Six Sigma program is an approach currently adopted by many companies, which involves a highly disciplined and guided process, in which applications of many different tools and techniques aim at generating a cycle of continuous improvement. In this sense, a survey‐based research was conducted in a developing country from which the aim of this paper is to identify and analyse the tools and techniques used in the stages of the DMAIC.

The paper presents parts of the results of a descriptive survey conducted by a postal questionnaire answered by more than 60 Six Sigma users. Specific results of tools and techniques applied in Six Sigma are compared with those prescribed in the literature.

The results confirm the use of Six Sigma tools and techniques suggested by the literature. It also points out that Six Sigma needs to be supported by measurable and reliable data, and thus that the use of tools and techniques is indispensable to the use of the DMAIC.

This is not a probabilistic survey and, therefore, the generalisation is not feasible.

The paper may assist either academic and practitioners when teaching, researching and applying tools and techniques in Six Sigma.

This paper is one of the few published studies that report tools and techniques applied in Six Sigma programme in developing countries.

This study aims to develop a new insight (focused on residents) into the measurement of place attachment, self‐esteem, self‐efficacy and perceived happiness, in order to provide public policy makers with performance indicators for place marketing strategies.

A survey applied to 641 residents of Portimão, the second most populated city in Algarve, in the south of Portugal, was conducted to assess the quality of life attributes and place attachment measures.

Findings revealed that the city's quality of life attributes (comprising six dimensions) influence place attachment – which is significantly correlated with self‐efficacy, perceived happiness and active citizenship behaviours.

As an input for the city policy makers, this research can contribute to a better knowledge and management of the factors that influence the residents' well‐being. For residents, it provided an opportunity for participation which may influence the public planning of the city.

The paper discusses a new framework that is a contribution for policy makers and public decision makers of the relevance of systematic place marketing and monitoring.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of income inequality on the economic growth of Brazilian states in the period from 1994 to 2014. The transmission mechanism of the effects of income inequality on economic growth is derived from the model proposed by Halter et al. (2014).

The empirical formulation adopted to achieve this goal is divided into two stages. The first stage is limited to short-term analysis, and panel data models with fixed effects, random effects, and instrumental variables are used. In the second stage, the discussion turns to the use of the error correction model for a cointegrated panel.

The findings of this study suggest that inequalities in income and educational level are the principal determinants of different growth rates among Brazilian states. More specifically, it is found that additional years of schooling positively influence growth. By contrast, income inequality negatively affects this indicator.

The present study differs from the others in that it adapts the discussion proposed by Halter et al. (2014) to the analysis of Brazilian states. Halter et al. (2014) derive the transmission channel between income inequality and economic growth, showing a non-monotonic adjustment trajectory of production that leads to a linear theoretical model of income inequality and economic growth that is similar to those used in this type of approach.