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Despite the call for increased theoretical diversity in franchising research, the incorporation of organizational theory into this literature has been minimal. In response, we examine how aspects of organizational identity are represented in franchisee recruitment Web sites. We develop the concept of franchise branding to understand how franchisors position franchise opportunities to attract potential franchisees. We find that firms in the Franchise 500 use more language associated with market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and charismatic rhetoric when compared to a sample of lower-performing franchises. We also examine the impact of franchisor size and age to examine how liabilities of size and newness impact language use. We find that larger firms tend to use more rhetoric but detect no significant differences based on age. We conclude by discussing future possibilities for incorporating additional theoretical perspectives into the franchising literature.

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BACKGROUND: African American (AA) women experience higher breast cancer mortality than white (W) women. These differences persist even among estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers. The 21-gene recurrence score (RS) predicts recurrence in patients with ER-positive/lymph node-negative breast cancer according to RS score-low risk (RS, 0-18), intermediate risk (RS,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31), and high risk (RS, >31). The high-risk group is most likely to benefit from chemotherapy, to achieve minimal benefit from hormonal therapy, and to exhibit lower ER levels (intrinsically luminal B cancers). In the current study, the authors investigated racial differences in RS testing, scores, treatment, and outcome. METHODS: Tumor registry data from 3 Atlanta hospitals identified women who were diagnosed with breast ]; P < .0001). Tumors were distributed into the following groups according to risk: low risk (n ¼ 133), medium risk (n ¼ 113), and high risk (n ¼ 26). The mean RS did not differ by race, but risk groups did (low-risk group: 46.1% vs 50% for AA women and W women, respectively; high-risk group: 15.8% vs 7.1%, respectively; P ¼ .043). In multivariate analyses, AA race (odds ratio, 3.6) was associated independently with high risk scores. CONCLUSIONS: AA women were half as likely as W women to receive 21-gene RS testing but were 2-fold more likely to be categorized as high risk. The current data suggested that testing guidelines are not applied equivalently, testing bias may attenuate racial differences in RS, and disparate outcomes may be explained in part by differences in RS, although compliance and pharmacogenomics also may play a role. Cancer 2012;118:788-

Concealment of gender and sexual identity constitutes a key proximal stress process in the minority stress model, and disparate literature indicates the presence of cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of concealment. There may be utility in testing these components as predictors of health disparities for gender and sexual minority (GSM) individuals. We hypothesized that greater engagement in concealment across these 3 components would be associated with worse physical health, more severe depression and anxiety, and higher rates of substance use among GSM individuals. Also, we hypothesized that each concealment component would predict depression and anxiety symptoms, whereas behavioral concealment, but neither cognitive nor affective concealment, would be associated with substance use. GSM adults (N = 640, Mage = 24.36, SD = 7.51) were recruited nationally. A measure was developed to assess the 3 components of concealment, and participants completed this measure as well as queries of current physical health, current depression and anxiety symptoms, and recent alcohol and drug use via an online survey. Multivariate hierarchical regressions demonstrated no relationship between concealment and physical health; however, concealment positively predicted depression, anxiety, and substance use symptoms. Varied relationships between the components of concealment and the response variables were found, including relationships between internalizing–externalizing symptoms and behaviors. Concealment and its constitutive components relate to a broad range of mental health symptomatology and behaviors among GSM individuals. This study is particularly timely in the current political context, as individuals in this sample appear to be more likely to conceal because of the increasing tenuousness of GSM rights.