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Two different methods to obtain crack propagation curves are considered in this work. In an analytical approach, the adhesion between the plates is considered perfect. In such case, the interface stiffness is not taken into account and the classic beam theory is used to study the behavior of the plates during the delamination. The second approach is numerical and the bonded interface is now considered elastic. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The propagation curves are obtained with the aid of the finite element code CAST3M by taking the structural response for a given value of initial crack length at a time.

A good fit is achieved when analytical and numerical curves are compared. Finally, mechanical tests results are presented to validate the numerical method and to identify the critical energy release rate (G_c).

More than an easier method to obtain propagation curves, the numerical method presented in this paper is an important tool to selection of optimized test geometries.

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.

This paper seeks to address the issue of persistent and widespread drought conditions during 2000 and 2001, which were the apparent cause of the decline of water levels in the reservoirs of Brazilian hydroelectric power plants.

This issue is addressed here through a case study of the hydroclimatology of the Paraíba river basin, in Southeast Brazil, home to four large multi‐purpose operational reservoirs.

The data analysis shows that neither changes in the frequency nor magnitude of extreme hydrological events (droughts and floods) nor in annual rainfall amounts can be detected from the existing climate record. The explanation is consistent with the fact that the terrestrial water and energy cycles are tightly, and non‐linearly, coupled through evapotranspiration.

Therefore small change in the seasonality of rainfall can have a significant impact on the basin's overall hydrologic regime, and thus on the availability of water resources.

Often, adaptation and resilience to climate variability are discussed in the context of catastrophic events such as floods and droughts. This study suggests that a different type of impacts, those associated with subtle, yet persistent changes of seasonality in the terrestrial water cycle, cannot be ignored in studies of long‐term sustainability of water resources.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate total productivity change in the winery sector, decomposing it into efficiency change and technical change.

The methodology is based on the estimation of the Malmquist productivity index for a sample of Spanish and Italian wineries between 2005 and 2013.

The results show very low efficiency levels for the wineries under study. Further, Spanish and Italian wineries show a decrease in their average annual productivity for the period of time analysed.

The analysis of the efficiency and the productivity of the wineries is crucial to improve their competitiveness and guarantee their survival.

For the first time, a comparative analysis is carried out with data from two major wine-producing countries.

The design for production of wall partitions (DPWP) offers high potential for improving the design process of building in Brazil. However, one of the problems worth mentioning is the lack of accurate definition of scope which leads to doubts about what, when and how it should be prepared, developed and delivered by the designers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the application of the Brazilian Association of Design Managers and Coordinators (AGESC) handbook scopes of DPWP in building construction.

A case study involving a field investigation of eight construction organisations and DPWP designers in the cities of Recife and Sao Paulo in Brazil.

The results obtained have shown that conformity (with specification) – the reference scope adopted AGESC handbook DPWP – was not entirely fulfilled by the companies, while the agreement (personal opinion on the appropriateness of the specification) with the scope was even lower among them. The major difference was found between conformity and agreement among the construction companies.

Guidelines concerning how to use the AGESC handbook for DPWP, description of potential uses and amplifying of the contributions to greater integration between expectations and resulting products, call for rational design and execution of non-loadbearing masonry in the Brazilian construction industry.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of innovation in the industry; factors that condition technological competitiveness at Magneti Marelli Controle Motor; analyse the risks and opportunities involved in the process of diffusion and management of flexfuel technology.

The methodological approach was qualitative/descriptive case study, supported by the theoretical framework on risk analysis and strategic analysis.

In a Brazilian market context, new technologies need to make cars more competitive in cost/price terms. Magneti Marelli had an innovative and important role in the development and implementation of this technology. Thus, it achieved a higher share of market and recognition of its entrepreneurial character.

There are few academic papers that relate the topics risk, strategy and Innovation. Moreover, the paper reports a successful case of Brazilian innovation in the global automotive industry.

The purpose of this paper is to argue for the necessity of regulating European club football financially, in order to create a fair structure of sporting competition.

By deploying the soft budget constraint approach – originally developed by Hungarian Economist János Kornai in order to understand (public) business behavior in socialist and post‐socialist economies – and combining it with empirical analysis, the paper develops an understanding of why the majority of European top league clubs are loss‐makers and why regulation is needed. The paper rests on its application of the soft budget constraint approach to build its argument and uses existing empirical research in order to support it within the field of European professional football.

The paper finds substantial evidence of soft budget constraints in professional football clubs, and argues that softness punishes the few financially well‐managed clubs in sporting terms for balancing their books.

From a theoretical point of view, the new perspective of soft budget constraints takes political, cultural and emotional aspects into account in order to understand economic behavior among professional team sports clubs. This gives promising new insights into the discipline of sports economics and sports management.

The paper's findings demand action to be taken to secure financial fair play in order to deal with issues of equal sporting competition. It argues that this must be done through a central regulation scheme covering all European leagues, thus endorsing the new UEFA financial fair play program. At the same time, however, the paper recognizes the problems in implementing the program efficiently.

The originality and value of the paper is its application of a new theoretical approach that clarifies the problems of European professional football and the reasons why regulatory solutions are necessary to harden the budget constraints.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the content of relational capital disclosure (RCD) information communicated by a sample of European listed companies. It also investigates the links between RCD and certain corporate financial performance indicators.

This research did a cross-country analysis on a sample of 80 companies and a content analysis based on 51 items inherent to the relational capital (RC) framework of mandatory and voluntary reports. An RCD index has been used in certain bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses to investigate whether RCD is positively correlated to particular indicators adopted as proxies for measuring company performance.

The results show that RCD supports statistically significant relationships with revenues, net operating cash flow and capital expenditures. In contrast, there is no statistically significant association with enterprise value.

This study evaluates the information disclosed in annual reports or other standalone reports, although companies might communicate such information using other information channels. The main caveat of this study is sample size; therefore, it could be insightful to extend this cross-country study.

The research could encourage preparers to improve the disclosure of specific items of RC and could offer useful suggestions to policymakers, for instance, to the European Commission, as it has recently announced new requirements for non-financial information reporting (Directive 2014/95/UE).

Given the crucial role of RC in company success and RCD’s importance for the decision-making process, this study provides interesting insights into the debate on RC reporting’s impacts on company performance.

This paper proposes an evaluation approach for analyzing excellence management practices at a regional level based on experts’ assessment.

Using the National Quality Foundation’s Management Excellence Model (MEG), 19 management excellence practices were identified and tailored for small- and medium-sized industries (SMIs). Data were collected through a survey with 25 experts who assessed these practices in the context of Brazilian manufacturing SMIs. The analysis utilized Fuzzy TOPSIS Class (FTC), and a sensitivity analysis was also conducted.

The proposed evaluation approach integrates a reference model for management excellence (MEG), an analysis method incorporating uncertainty (FTC), and results that enable decision-makers to make well-informed choices. Of the 19 practices assessed, 15 were classified as “unacceptable,” while four were rated as “regular,” and none as “expected.” Key challenges relate to practices in information security, knowledge, innovation and change management.

The study’s primary limitation is the use of non-probabilistic sampling and its focus on the Brazilian context. However, the extensive knowledge and experience of the experts in manufacturing SMIs and the need for studies addressing specific regional contexts should be noted.

The findings reveal a significant gap between ideal management practices and the actual state of SMIs, especially in emerging markets.

This research introduces a novel approach that combines a reference model tailored for SMIs with a multicriteria decision-making method, offering valuable insights for decision-makers and guiding future research.