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Nations with high levels of economic inequality tend to have high rates of entrepreneurial activity. In this paper, we develop propositions about this relationship, based upon current research. Although we provide some descriptive analyses to support our propositions, our paper is not an empirical test but rather a theoretical exploration of new ideas related to this topic. We first define entrepreneurship at the individual and societal level and distinguish between entrepreneurship undertaken out of necessity and entrepreneurship that takes advantage of market opportunities. We then explore the roles that various causes of economic inequality play in increasing entrepreneurial activity, including economic development, state policies, foreign investment, sector shifts, labor market and employment characteristics, and class structures. The relationship between inequality and entrepreneurship poses a potentially disturbing message for countries with strong egalitarian norms and political and social policies that also wish to increase entrepreneurial activity. We conclude by noting the conditions under which entrepreneurship can be a source of upward social and economic mobility for individuals.

The application of an artificial neural network (ANN) to forecast the construction duration of buildings at the predesign stage is described in this paper. A three‐layered back‐propagation (BP) network consisting of 11 input nodes has been constructed. Ten binary input nodes represent basic information on building features (i.e. building function, structural system, foundation, height, exterior finishing, quality of interior decorating, and accessibility to the site), and one real‐value input represents functional area. The input nodes are fully connected to one output node through hidden nodes. The network was implemented on a Pentium‐150 based microcomputer using a neurocomputer program written in C+ +. The Generalized Delta Rule (GDR) was used as learning algorithm. One hundred and thirty‐six buildings built during the period 1987–95 in the Greater Bangkok area were used for training and testing the network. The determination of the optimum number of hidden nodes, learning rate, and momentum were based on trial‐and‐error. The best network was found to consist of six hidden nodes, with a learning rate of 0.6, and null momentum. It was trained for 44700 epochs within 943 s such that the mean squared error (judgement) of training and test samples were reduced to 1.17 × 10−7 and 3.10 × 10−6, respectively. The network can forecast construction du‐ration at the predesign stage with an average error of 13.6%.

Despite interest in social stereotypes such as gender, race and age, professional stereotypes of frontline employees is still a new topic that requires measurement in the banking services. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a reliable banker stereotype scale that reflects all useful dimensions.

A multi-dimensional scale is developed using a mixed method in the French context. Qualitative data were collected from two samples (11 private banking clients, 17 retail banking clients). Quantitative data were collected from two diversified samples built by quotas: an exploratory sample (n = 226) and a confirmatory sample (n = 579). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test and validate the scale.

The measurement scale proves to be valid and reliable. The scale is then used in a conceptual model as an explanatory factor of expected relational benefits where relations are analyzed using structural equation modeling. The model successfully provides some explanatory links between the banker stereotypes and the expected relational benefits.

The concept of the professional stereotype can be further used to better understand relationship quality and customer satisfaction through relational benefits, and more widely as a part of the know your customer (KYC) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) procedures.

The scale identifies four behavioral dimensions (partner, paternalistic, subordinate and shark) and one about dress code (formal clothing).

The following is an introductory profile of the fastest growing firms over the three-year period of the study listed by corporate reputation ranking order. The business activities in which the firms are engaged are outlined to provide background information for the reader.

The paper aims to analyse the development of broadcast radio in the USA during the 1920 s, focusing on the legislative and regulatory background, considering the broadcasting spectrum, programme content, and nature of radio as an information resource at that time.

An analysis of primary materials, and of recent secondary materials, is carried out.

The legislative and regulatory framework failed to take note of the unique attributes of information resources, and attempted to treat them in the same manner as more traditional resources. Records of the early days of USA radio are very limited. More positively, radio information resources played a major part in developing several aspects of society, including education, agriculture, and jazz culture.

The study shows lessons for development of current information society. The research is limited to one communication medium, in one country, in one decade. It is not a full historical analysis of the development of radio broadcasting, rather it is limited to information resource aspects, largely of public sector broadcasting.

The paper is the first study of the early development of radio broadcasting from an information perspective. It shows the value of the “information‐as‐resource” model for analysing developments in the communication of information.

While it has long been established that social factors, such as housing, transportation, and income, influence health and health care outcomes, over the last decade, attention to this topic has grown dramatically. Reforms that promote high-quality care as well as responsibility for total cost of care have shifted focus among health care providers toward upstream determinants of health care outcomes. As a result, there has been a proliferation of activity focused on integrating and aligning social and medical care, many of which depend critically on cross-sector alliances. Despite considerable activity in this area, cross-sector alliances in health care remain largely undertheorized. Both literatures stand to gain from more attention to carefully knitting together the theoretical and management literature on alliances with the empirical, health policy and health services literature on cross-sector alliances in health care. In this chapter, we lay out what exists in the current scientific literature as well as a framework for considering much needed work in this area. We organize the literature and our commentary around the lifecycle of alliances: alliance formation, including factors prompting alliance formation, partner selection, and alliance goals; alliance maturity, including the work of these cross-sector alliances, governance, finance and contracts, staffing structure, and rewards; and critical crossroads, including alliance timelines, definitions of success, and dissolution. We also lay out critical areas for future inquiry, including better theorizing on cross-sector alliances, developing typologies of these cross-sector health care alliances, and the role of policy in cross-sector alliances.