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This chapter examines how proponents of industrialization used multiple modes of communication to socially construct the rational myth of industrialization in the French construction sector after World War II. We illuminate the respective roles of visual and verbal communication in this process. Our findings suggest that actors construct rational myths according to the following step-by-step method: first, they use visuals to suggest associations between new practices and valuable purposes; then they use verbal text to establish the technical rationality of certain practices; and lastly, they employ both verbal and visual communications to convey their mythical features.

Rational choice theory has numerous implications for the analysis of organizational governance structures. This chapter reviews some of these applications. The main emphasis is on relational contracting. It will be argued that repeated games theory, that is, a variant of rational choice that deals with rational agents who repeatedly interact, can explain the outcomes of relational contracting. There is some controversy about the merits of rational choice explanations. Can they deal with inefficient structures and their (alleged) stability, with path dependence and mimetic processes? Many of these issues have been addressed by new sociological institutionalists. It is argued that rational choice analysis is in fact consistent with many of these observations. There is, in other words, some convergence between rational choice and institutionalist approaches.

This paper surveys the treatment of expectations in estimated Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) macroeconomic models.

A recent notable development in the empirical macroeconomics literature has been the rapid growth of papers that build structural models, which include a number of frictions and shocks, and which are confronted with the data using sophisticated full-information econometric approaches, often using Bayesian methods.

A widespread assumption in these estimated models, as in most of the macroeconomic literature in general, is that economic agents' expectations are formed according to the Rational Expectations Hypothesis (REH). Various alternative ways to model the formation of expectations have, however, emerged: some are simple refinements that maintain the REH, but change the information structure along different dimensions, while others imply more significant departures from rational expectations.

I review here the modeling of the expectation formation process and discuss related econometric issues in current structural macroeconomic models. The discussion includes benchmark models assuming rational expectations, extensions based on allowing for sunspots, news, sticky information, as well as models that abandon the REH to use learning, heuristics, or subjective expectations.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to argue that utility maximisation, taken from a narrow economic understanding of rationality, frames contemporary business school pedagogy and management theory. The chapter will illustrate this observation by detailing the rational framing assumptions in social capital literature. The chapter will argue that these framing rational notions foster a perspective that inclines towards excessive self-interest as well as a concomitant lack of fellow feeling or morality.

Methodology – Literature review of Social Capital theory.

Findings – The chapter demonstrates that the narrow economic understanding of rationality that predominates as the framing notion in management theory tends towards amorality as it privileges individual self-interest. In consequence, the significance of ethics and cooperation are under-reported and under-emphasised which leads to Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI). These observations are discussed with reference to social capital theory.

Research implications – To consider the significance of the under-acknowledged rational background or framing perspectives in distorting theory and empirical research in social capital literature, and more generally in contemporary management literatures and business school pedagogy.

Social implication – There is a need to re-examine and challenge the validity and application of rational notions in contemporary management literatures and pedagogy.

Originality – The chapter identifies that a narrow utility maximising understanding of rationality frames and therefore inhibits current management literatures and pedagogy, including social capital literature.

Frames play an important role in determining the geometric properties of the curves such as curvature and torsion. In particular, the determination of the point types of the curve, convexity or concavity is also possible with the frames. The Serret-Frenet frames are generally used in curve theory. However, the Serret-Frenet frame does not work when the second derivative is zero. In order to eliminate this problem, the quasi-frame was obtained. In this study, the quasi frames of the polynomial and rational Bezier curves are calculated by an algorithmic method. Thus, it will be possible to construct the frame even at singular points due to the second derivative of the curve. In this respect, the contribution of this study to computer-aided geometric design studies is quite high.

In this study, the quasi frame which is an alternative for all intermediate points of the rational Bezier curves was generated by the algorithm method, and some variants of this frame were analyzed. Even at the points where the second derivative of such rational Bezier curves is zero, there is a curve frame.

Several examples presented at the end of the paper regarding the quasi-frame of the rational Bezier curve, polynomial Bezier curve, linear, quadratic and cubic Bezier curves emphasize the efficacy and preciseness.

The quasi-frame of a rational Bezier curve is first computed. Owing to the quasi frame, it will have been found a solution for the nonsense rotation of the curve around the tangent.

This study explores whether herd behavior exists for equity crowdfunding investors in China and whether this herding is rational.

Based on signaling theory and social learning theory, two hypotheses were proposed. This study employed two approaches to collect data. First, this paper analyzed 3,041 investments on an equity crowdfunding platform in China using Python programming and built a panel data model. Second, based on a unique experiment design, this study conducted several relevant herd behavior simulation experiments.

We found that investors in the Chinese equity crowdfunding market exhibit herd behavior and that this herding is rational. Project attributes play a negative role in moderating the relationship between the current investment amount and cumulative investments. Experimental results further support our findings.

This study contributes to the emerging literature on herding in crowdfunding by focusing on equity crowdfunding in China. We are the first to explore whether Chinese equity crowdfunding investors exhibit rational herding behavior. The study is also original in applying social learning theory to equity crowdfunding and in using both actual crowdfunding campaigns and experimental approaches to collect data. This study has valuable implications to practice.

This research aims to examine how religiosity influences consumers’ responses to rational versus emotional ad appeals.

Four experiments were conducted that examined how religiosity affected consumers’ responses (attitude toward the product, purchase intentions and brand trust) to rational versus emotional ad appeals, and how perceived fit between the ad appeal type and consumers’ information processing style mediated the effects.

The results show that consumers low in religiosity respond more favorably to rational (vs emotional) appeals because of these types of appeals being more congruent with their rational information processing style. In addition, there is no difference in consumer responses toward rational and emotional appeals for individuals high in religiosity.

In this research, the authors only used surveys and measured behavioral intentions rather than actual behaviors. Thus, future research should measure actual behaviors in the field to enhance the external validity of the observed effects. In addition, this research samples one primary culture that is more representative of Judeo-Christian religious beliefs. Therefore, future research should sample from other cultures and religious groups.

The results suggest that marketers should use rational rather than emotional appeals in their marketing communications to low religiosity consumers (identifiable through such means as demographic data for geographic regions or self-identified classifications on social media). Marketers can also prime low religiosity in their messages (e.g. using words such as “evolution”) and, when doing so, should couple that prime with a rational (vs emotional) appeal.

This research is novel in that it is the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to examine how religiosity influences consumers’ responses to rational versus emotional ad appeals.