In recent years, growing scholarly attention has been devoted to the concept of Public Value (PV), which has emerged as a new paradigm for public administration. Creating PV requires defining a strategy that aligns public sector organisations’ priorities with the achievement of a citizen-centric value. However, while a large body of literature has focused on defining and operationalising PV, empirical research on the extent to which PV is prioritised within formal strategic planning processes remains limited. This study aims to fill this research gap by examining the (mis)alignment between strategic planning processes and the imperative of creating PV. In particular, the study focuses on Italian public healthcare organisations (HCOs), which have undergone several changes aimed at orienting their strategies towards the creation of PV. Drawing on PV theory, this study conducts a manual content
analysis of core strategic documents from Italian public HCOs. The analysis pursues a two-fold objective: to assess the extent to which strategy is formulated in terms of PV creation and to delineate the overarching thematic dimensions of PV being prioritised. Preliminary findings indicate a notably high level of PV disclosure, suggesting that PV is gaining significant traction as a strategic objective for HCOs. The analysis also reveals a broad and nuanced articulation of PV. Notably, themes such as digitalisation and transparency towards stakeholders emerge as highly recurrent strategic priorities for value creation, while traditional notions of internal efficiency appear to be de-emphasised in these strategic narratives. The study contributes to expanding the literature on PV by investigating an under-researched area, such as the healthcare sector. Moreover, by providing empirical evidence on PV disclosure within strategic planning processes, it sheds light on the thematic dimensions deemed most relevant in healthcare for creating PV.

Introduction: Universities are established to educate undergraduate and graduate students who can think independently and uphold ethics and values. They also aim to support students in conducting purposeful research and contributing to societal well-being. Achieving these objectives requires the coordinated efforts of both academic and non-academic staff. Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of university governance and human resource practices and their effect on the performance of public sector universities.

Methodology: This study examines the impact of governance and HR practices on the performance of public sector universities in Pakistan. A non-probability convenience sampling method was employed due to limited access to respondents across geographically dispersed universities. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to academics and administrative staff of selected universities. The sample included five old universities (≥25 years) and five new universities (10–25 years). A total of 208 valid responses were obtained, comprising 106 from old universities and 102 from newly established universities. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. In addition to regression analysis, independent sample t-tests were conducted to examine performance differences between old and new universities.

Results: The study results indicate that both governance and HR practices are significant predictors of university performance, irrespective of whether the universities are old or new. The analysis reveals a significant positive relationship between HR practices, governance, and university performance. Good governance motivates faculty and staff to contribute more effectively toward achieving university goals. Effective HRM practices enable universities to attract, develop, and retain qualified employees, thereby enhancing teaching quality and research productivity.

Conclusion: The study findings highlight the important role of effective governance and HR practices in improving institutional performance in Pakistan’s higher education sector. These findings are important for policymakers and university administrators in designing effective governance and HR strategies to improve the performance of academic institutions.

In today’s globalised and fast-changing work environment, leadership goes beyond strategy or authority: it requires emotional awareness, adaptability and connection. This proposed study seeks to explore how immigrant women leaders in the United Kingdom use emotional intelligence (EI) to find belonging, build credibility and lead effectively in diverse and often hybrid organisational settings. Leadership for these women is not only about performance, but also about navigating cultural expectations and maintaining authenticity within systems that may not have been designed with them in mind.

The study will use a qualitative narrative ​approach to explore the lived experiences of​ immigrant women holding senior leadership roles across public, private and third-sector organisations. It will be guided by three key frameworks: Goleman’s (1995) emotional intelligence theory, which focuses on empathy, self-awareness and social skill; intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989), which highlights the overlapping influences of gender, race and migration; and the identity work framework (Sveningsson & Alvesson, 2003), which examines how leaders construct and sustain their professional identities. Through in-depth narrative interviews, the research will examine how emotional intelligence helps these leaders manage cultural and emotional tensions, foster trust and adapt to hybrid or remote leadership environments.

It is expected that the study will reveal how empathy, resilience and authenticity support immigrant women’s leadership journeys. The findings aim to provide both theoretical and practical insights into how emotional intelligence can promote inclusive, adaptive and human-centred leadership in multicultural organisation.

Introduction
Although female participation in leadership has increased globally, women remain significantly underrepresented in executive roles across Europe (Hanna et al., 2023). Research shows that women’s advancement into leadership continues to be constrained by structural, cultural, and social barriers, including gender norms (Kiamba, 2008), exclusion from professional networks (Fairfax, 2006; Kiamba, 2008), and disproportionate caregiving responsibilities (ILO, 2018; UN Women, 2020). This study investigates the factors and competencies that enable women to take leadership roles.

Methods
This mixed-methods study combines a secondary synthesis of more than 50 leadership training frameworks from German-speaking countries with primary data collection. Building on these general theoretical findings, six semi-structured interviews with experienced leaders who also work as leadership trainers explored success factors, best practices, and competencies relevant to female leadership development.

Results
The analyses revealed three key competencies for female leadership: self-leadership, communication and visibility, and strategic leadership. Self-leadership involves self-awareness, goal orientation, and effective resource management. Communication and visibility focus on assertive and authentic communication, self-presentation, and the ability to gain professional visibility. Strategic leadership centers on reflective thinking, prioritization, and stakeholder management. Those essential competencies are perceived as still needing further development, especially among women. Based on the results, a leadership training program will be developed to specifically advance these competencies.

Conclusion
Progress in women’s leadership requires a dual strategy: strengthening individual competencies while transforming organizational systems and cultures (Purnamawati & Utama, 2019; Tushabe et al., 2025). Our results suggest that focusing on self-leadership, communication and visibility, and strategic leadership is key to fostering both individual empowerment and greater female participation in leadership.

Authentic leadership theory (ALT) is viewed as a value-based, positive concept that promotes openness and transparency at work. While being true to yourself has its merits, combining authenticity—a self-referent concept—with leadership—a dyadic concept—has been critiqued as paradoxical and complex at best. Since most scholars agree that there are multiple selves, it is unclear if the authentic self at work is the true self, the best self, the current self, the future self, or the prescribed self that must conform to organisational roles. Scholars also claim that practising authenticity is difficult, since organisations do not focus on individuals' true selves but rather on the outcomes of their practices and behaviours. In addition, there are codes of conduct and regulations which individuals and leaders alike are required to adhere to. The root of ALT is also debated, with some basing it on positive psychology and others on existential philosophy. This critical piece, therefore, highlights the lack of consensus on the definition and measurement of ALT and how its prescription of subjective morality allows for varied interpretations of moral conduct. ALT's prescribed attributes leave some pending questions about how individuals can be purely authentic in the presence of contextual influences that lead to adherence or conformity to organisational norms. This paper, therefore, calls for a theoretical reconceptualisation, and some recommendations are offered for reimaging ALT to emphasise its focus on values and positive outlook on life.

Introduction: Agricultural public policy analysis in Mexico is severely limited by fragmented data and a lack of transparency. Information about state-level support programs is dispersed across 32 decentralized agencies with no unified repository, hindering national comparisons and evidence-based decision-making. This fragmentation restricts policymakers’ ability to identify regional disparities, overlapping initiatives, and investment priorities. The Mexican Agricultural Policy Observatory (MAPO) was developed to address this gap by providing an interactive digital governance platform that centralizes, classifies, and visualizes agricultural policies nationwide.

Methods: A systematic audit of official websites from all 32 state agricultural secretariats was conducted. Data was manually curated to compile information on program objectives, beneficiaries, and support mechanisms. A functional classification scheme adapted from World Bank frameworks was applied, encompassing Financing, Supplies and Equipment Acquisition, Technification and Digital Transformation, Water Management, and Training. These categories are policy-relevant because they reflect key dimensions of public intervention in productivity, sustainability, and digital inclusion.

Results: Preliminary analysis reveals that financing initiatives dominate, accounting for 42% of all programs, while Technification and Commercialization remain underrepresented. The platform’s dashboard enables robust comparative policy analysis by cross-referencing policy data with national production statistics and visualizing program classifications by state through interactive tools such as treemaps of investment patterns, choropleth maps of regional priorities, and statistical charts comparing production value, land-use efficiency, and harvest loss rates across states.

Conclusion: MAPO enhances transparency and fosters digital transformation in public management. It empowers policymakers to identify inefficiencies, gaps, and redundancies, thereby improving strategic planning and resource allocation. Beyond serving as a repository, MAPO functions as a governance instrument that strengthens accountability and supports evidence-based, transparent, and regionally balanced agricultural policymaking, laying the groundwork for a more coordinated and inclusive rural development strategy in Mexico.

The “Digital Pakistan” initiative represents a national effort to modernize public administration by transitioning from paper-based processes to digital platforms. This study critically evaluates the initiative’s impact on public service delivery, focusing on efficiency, accessibility, transparency, and citizen trust. Despite its transformative potential, challenges in infrastructure, digital literacy, and internet accessibility continue to limit its effectiveness.

Using a qualitative research methodology, the study draws on secondary sources, including academic journals, government reports, policy documents, and books, selected based on relevance. To systematically assess the initiative’s progress, a SWOT framework is applied, highlighting Strengths such as improved administrative efficiency, transparency, and broader service outreach; Weaknesses including infrastructural limitations and uneven digital literacy; Opportunities presented by e-services expansion, youth-driven innovation, and international collaborations; and Threats like cybersecurity risks, inconsistent policy implementation, and bureaucratic inertia.

The findings indicate that “Digital Pakistan” has enhanced service responsiveness and reduced bureaucratic barriers. However, measurable indicators such as the number of e-services implemented, levels of citizen engagement, and observed improvements in service delivery suggest that the initiative has yet to reach its full potential. The study concludes that sustainable digital transformation requires not only technological investment but also inclusive policymaking, leadership continuity, and citizen empowerment. By strengthening the link between digital tools and public participation, the initiative has the potential to redefine governance and foster greater trust between the state and its citizens.

Introduction: Many small EU economies pursue a “twin transition,” yet the micro–meso channel linking digital twin capabilities to green entrepreneurship remains underexplored. This study investigates whether higher digital twin readiness strengthens the emergence of green start-ups and innovation in Baltic innovation ecosystems.
Methods: We build an industry–country–year panel for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (2015–2024) and construct a Digital Twin Readiness Index (DTRI) from five ICT indicators (AI, IoT, cloud, big data, ICT specialists) using principal component analysis. Green entrepreneurial output is captured by (i) green/cleantech start-up formation, (ii) green VC/PE inflows, and (iii) environmental patents (CPC Y02). Identification relies on two-way fixed effects, a staggered difference-in-differences design exploiting 2020–2021 national digitalization strategies, and a Bartik-style IV.
Results: A higher DTRI significantly increases green entrepreneurial activity: a one-unit rise in DTRI is associated with roughly 30% higher green VC investment and about 25% more environmental patenting, while effects on start-up counts are positive but smaller. The impact is stronger in Lithuania’s energy-related activities and Estonia’s manufacturing, indicating that absorptive capacity and smart specialization conditions return to twin transition.
Conclusion: Digital twin readiness is not only a technological enabler but also an entrepreneurial enabler for green markets. Coordinating digital and green policy instruments can increase private capital and accelerate cleantech scaling.

This study investigates the causal relationship between artificial intelligence development and corporate ESG performance. We compiled data from 1,774 A-share listed companies in China between 2012 and 2023. Through text analysis of corporate financial statements, we identified whether companies underwent AI transformation and constructed a difference-in-differences model to assess the impact of AI transformation on corporate ESG performance. We find that AI transformation significantly enhances ESG performance, a conclusion that holds up after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis indicates that green effects and governance effects are key pathways for enhancing corporate ESG performance. On one hand, AI transformation promotes green innovation and green production, and increases green total factor productivity, thereby improving ESG outcomes. On the other hand, it enhances regulatory compliance, mitigates managerial myopia, and reduces corporate risks, further boosting ESG performance. This study also reveals that AI technology exerts a more favorable ESG impact on state-owned enterprises, non-high-tech firms, and heavily polluting companies. Our text-based identification strategy and comprehensive research design contribute new firm-level evidence on how AI reshapes sustainability outcomes. The findings offer practical implications for managers and regulators seeking to align digital transformation with ESG objectives and to target supportive policies where the return to AI-enabled sustainability is likely to be largest. Overall, this study highlights AI as a practical lever for corporate sustainability in emerging markets.

This study investigates the factors that influence the quality of SDG reporting among Portuguese municipalities. It focuses on municipal characteristics (size, location, financial efficiency, gender of the mayor, and participation in local SDG initiatives such as CESOP_Local), as well as report-specific factors (type of report and reporting framework). A mixed-methods design combining content analysis with panel data regression was employed. An SDG disclosure index was used to analyse commitment and reporting quality on a four-point scale, ranging from no reference to full integration with quantitative indicators and strategic alignment.

The initial sample covered all 308 Portuguese municipalities and targeted sustainability reports (SR) from 2015 to 2024. However, only 29 municipalities had published SRs, providing 67 reports for analysis in the decade following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda.

The results show an overall improvement in the quality of SDG reporting over time, although there were declines during economic downturns. The average SDG disclosure level was 2, reflecting mainly qualitative disclosures with limited quantitative data. Of the municipal characteristics examined, only size had a statistically significant positive effect, with larger municipalities providing more comprehensive reports. At the reporting level, adherence to GRI standards and participation in CESOP_Local initiatives were strongly associated with higher-quality reporting.

These findings contribute to the limited research on SDG reporting by local governments, emphasising the need for standardised frameworks to improve comparability and accountability. As the latest SDSN report indicates that many SDGs are off track, attention should now turn to the post-2030 framework and forward-looking new strategies built on lessons learnt, as suggested by the Pact for the Future. Future research should examine how municipalities prepare for this transition and integrate revised metrics into their reporting. It should also expand analyses to other countries and additional political or institutional factors affecting reporting quality.