Tejedo-Romero, F., Araujo, J. F. F. E., & Emmendoerfer, M. L. (2017). Corporate governance mechanisms and intellectual capital. Revista Brasileira de Gestao de Negocios, 19(65), 394–414. https://doi.org/10.7819/rbgn.v19i65.3024

This episode explores the corporate governance (CG) characteristics of Spanish companies listed on the Ibex35 that influence voluntary disclosure of Intellectual Capital (IC). Based on an analysis of 115 annual reports from 23 firms over five years, the study quantifies IC disclosures.

Findings show that companies with higher IC disclosure tend to have greater managerial ownership, fewer independent directors, a separation of CEO and chairman roles, and larger boards. The study contributes to agency-stakeholder theory by examining a non-Anglo-Saxon market with strong executive power and weak minority shareholder protection.

Using panel data econometrics and the Hausman-Taylor estimator to address endogeneity, the research finds that IC disclosure averages only 42%. Managerial ownership and role separation positively influence disclosure, while board independence has a negative impact. The study highlights CG’s role in corporate transparency and accountability, offering insights for regulators and firms following CG codes.

Araujo, J. F. F. E. de, & Tejedo-Romero, F. (2016). Local government transparency index: determinants of municipalities’ rankings. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 29(4), 327–347. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-11-2015-0199

This episode, "Local Government Transparency Index: Determinants of Municipal Rankings", explores the factors influencing transparency levels in Spanish municipalities until 2012. Based on research by Joaquim Filipe Ferraz Esteves de Araujo and Francisca Tejedo-Romero, published in the International Journal of Public Sector Management, the study analyzes data from Transparency International Spain and official sources using univariate and multivariate regression analysis, including instrumental variable regression (2SLS) to address potential endogeneity.

Grounded in agency and legitimacy theories, the study finds that political factors, such as voter turnout, political ideology, and electoral competition, significantly impact transparency. Higher electoral competition correlates with greater transparency, while voter turnout and unemployment have negative effects. Population size and investment positively influence transparency levels. The findings highlight the role of political power in government transparency and its impact on good governance. This episode provides key insights into how transparency varies across municipalities and the political factors shaping it.

Ferreira-Pereira, L. C., & Mourato Pinto, J. (2024). EU Soft Power in Lusophone Africa Amidst the Chinese Challenge: Delving into the Erasmus Programme in Angola and Cabo Verde. In The Palgrave Handbook on China-Europe-Africa Relations (pp. 697–724). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-5640-7_34

This episode examines the role of the Erasmus+ program as a soft power tool for the European Union (EU) in Africa, focusing on Angola and Cape Verde. Soft power refers to the ability to influence others through persuasion rather than coercion. The EU leverages higher education to enhance its global influence, with Erasmus+ evolving from a domestic initiative into an external policy instrument promoting European values.

China's growing presence in Africa, with its debt-dependent investment model, challenges EU influence. In response, the EU launched the Global Gateway initiative, fostering value-based cooperation. While historically tied to Africa through colonialism, the EU has transitioned from being the continent's largest donor to building partnerships of equals. Erasmus+ plays a key role by fostering student and academic mobility and supporting capacity-building projects.

The episode discusses Erasmus+ milestones, its impact on African education, and its specific contributions in Angola and Cape Verde. Despite challenges, the program strengthens EU-Africa relations, countering China's influence and promoting democratic cooperation.

Tejedo-Romero, F., Araujo, J. F. F. E., Tejada, Á., & Ramírez, Y. (2022). E-government mechanisms to enhance the participation of citizens and society: Exploratory analysis through the dimension of municipalities. Technology in Society, 70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.101978

This episode explores how Portuguese local governments use online media to enhance municipal transparency and citizen participation. The study analyzes trends in e-government development and assesses whether municipality size influences information disclosure and participation levels. Findings show that municipalities have increasingly adopted online initiatives, with transparency indicators improving over time. However, participation mechanisms remain less developed, especially in smaller municipalities. Larger municipalities tend to provide better information access, offer more online services, and establish stronger citizen interaction channels.

Key insights highlight the dominance of information-sharing over interactive participation tools, with social media links available in 90% of municipalities but more advanced tools, such as administrative procedure systems, limited to larger ones. Transparency and participation indices positively correlate with municipal size, reflecting greater public demand and political visibility. The episode emphasizes the need for national policies to standardize transparency levels and enhance e-government systems, particularly in smaller municipalities, fostering accountability and democratic renewal.

Tejedo-Romero, F., & Araujo, J. F. F. E. (2022). The influence of corporate governance characteristics on human capital disclosure: the moderating role of managerial ownership. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 23(2), 342–374. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-03-2019-0055

This episode examines the disclosure of human capital information by Spanish companies from 2007 to 2016. It integrates intellectual capital and social responsibility frameworks to assess how companies report on human capital, highlighting their adaptation to new regulations and voluntary efforts to signal responsibility toward employees and stakeholders. The study analyzes the influence of board structure, composition, and functioning on disclosure practices, with managerial ownership acting as a moderating factor aligning interests. Key findings reveal that human capital disclosure supports stakeholder decision-making, while corporate governance impacts information policies. Spanish companies increased disclosure after 2014 in anticipation of the EU Directive 2014/95/EU. Training and development were prioritized, while work-related knowledge received less attention. Gender diversity positively influenced disclosure, whereas independent boards showed a negative effect, suggesting a substitution dynamic. The episode explores practical, social, and policy implications, emphasizing mandatory regulations and governance reforms to enhance human capital transparency.

Tejedo-Romero, F.; Araujo, J.F.F.E. (2021). Análisis comparado de la política de trans-parencia en los municipios Ibéricos. Revista Española de Documentación Científica, 44 (4), e309. https://doi.org/ 10.3989/redc.2021.4.1790

Paschoalotto, M. A. C., Lazzari, E. A., Rocha, R., Massuda, A., & Castro, M. C. (2023). Health systems resilience: is it time to revisit resilience after COVID-19? Social Science and Medicine, 320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115716

This episode examines the resilience of health systems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on a literature review and interviews with 26 experts, it highlights key advances in defining resilience, emphasizing its contextual dependence and adaptability to crises. The four stages of resilience—preparedness, alert, impact, and recovery—are reimagined as an adaptive system, with decision-making and management capacity at its core. A new framework connects technology and information systems to all resilience dimensions, enabling more effective responses. The episode also explores differences in resilience implementation between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, with resources and technological capacities as key factors. Finally, it discusses challenges in implementing resilience frameworks, stressing the importance of community engagement, political support, and clear narratives to strengthen health systems against future shocks. This theme reflects on lessons learned and proposes pathways to more robust and adaptable healthcare systems worldwide.

Deslatte, A., Szmigiel-Rawska, K., Tavares, A. F., Ślawska, J., Karsznia, I., & Łukomska, J. (2022). Land use institutions and social-ecological systems: A spatial analysis of local landscape changes in Poland. Land Use Policy, 114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105937

This episode examines landscape transformation in Poland to understand how governance and resource systems interact within evolving institutional contexts. Urban land-use patterns are viewed as integrated human-natural systems, where changes in human settlements, such as population density, wealth, and political institutions, can degrade natural systems, while ecological decline similarly impacts human well-being and sustainability.

Using a socioecological systems (SES) approach, the study draws on Logan and Molotch's (1987) growth machine thesis, emphasizing coalitions of politicians and business leaders driving urban development. Focusing on Poland's transition from Soviet-style central planning to Westernized capitalist approaches, the research analyzes 12 years of land-use changes with spatial Durbin error models and Corine Land Cover data.

Key findings include: local executive autonomy fostering development, farmer representation reducing transaction costs in governance, and municipal wealth mediating pro-development landscape shifts. Historical and adjacent land-use changes also influence outcomes. The study highlights SES frameworks as valuable for cross-national research on land-use dynamics.

Tavares, A. F., Camões, P. J., & Martins, J. (2023). Joining the open government partnership initiative: An empirical analysis of diffusion effects. Government Information Quarterly, 40(2).https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2022.101789

This episode explores the global adoption of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), analyzing data from 175 countries over a decade (2010-2018). The study argues that OGP participation results from policy diffusion processes, influenced by regional proximity, cultural and governmental similarities, and international organization membership. While democracies are more likely to join, autocracies also participate when peers in their group do, highlighting the complexity of regime characteristics in shaping open government policies.

Four diffusion mechanisms—learning, competition, coercion, and social emulation—are examined. Learning involves rational policy adoption for expected benefits, while competition relates to economic policies. Coercion arises from pressures by organizations like the IMF or UN, and social emulation reflects the adoption of policies deemed progressive.

The study finds all four mechanisms relevant and shows that Freedom of Information legislation correlates with OGP participation. It calls for stronger OGP leadership to attract non-members and further research on substantive policy changes under OGP frameworks.

Francisca Tejedo-Romero & Joaquim Filipe Ferraz Esteves Araújo (2023) Does political ideology act as a moderator of transparency drivers? An empirical analysis of active information disclosure in local governments, Local Government Studies, 49:3, 519-543,DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2021.2013209