Nursing entrepreneurship: motivators, strategies and possibilities for professional advancement and health system change

In Canada, as well as internationally, efficiency-focused organizational restructuring in healthcare has resulted in stressful job change for nurses, although nurses continue to work in a system that values technology-based, physician-provided services. Employed nurses have had to participate in organizational activities that undermine their professional values and goals. Nursing entrepreneurship presents an opportunity to explore nursing's professional potential in nursing practice that is uniquely independent. In this study, a focused ethnographic approach was used to explore the experiences of self-employed nurses, who see themselves as leaders in advancing the profession of nursing and its contribution to healthcare. Key themes in the findings include the responses of self-employed nurses to health system change, expanded roles for nurses, the consequences of this non-traditional approach to nursing work and the possibilities for change that arise from nursing entrepreneurship. This research has implications for healthcare policy, professional advocacy and nursing education.

Social entrepreneurship for sexual health (SESH): a new approach for enabling delivery of sexual health services among most-at-risk populations

Joseph Tucker and colleagues argue for social entrepreneurship, a new approach to help improve delivery of sexual health services.

When the business of nursing was the nursing business: the private duty registry system, 1900-1940

In the initial decades of the 20th century, most nurses worked in the private sector as private duty nurses dependent on their own resources for securing and obtaining employment with individual patients. To organize and systematize the ways in which nurses sought jobs, a structure of private duty registries, agencies which connected nurses with patients, was established via professional nurse associations. This article describes the origins of the private duty nurse labor market as the main employment field for early nurses and ways in which the private duty registry system connected nurses and patients. The impact of professional nurses associations and two registries, (New York and Chicago) illustrates how the business of nursing was carried out, including registry formation, operation, and administration. Private duty nurses are compelling examples of a previous generation of nurse entrepreneurs. The discussion identifies problems and challenges of private nursing practice via registries, including the decline and legacy of this innovative nurse role. The story of early 20th century nurse owned and operated registries provides an early and critical historical illustration of the realization of nurse power, entrepreneurship, and control over professional practice that we still learn from today.

Initial resource assembly in new ventures: does location matter?

The formation of a new venture requires crucial choices that impact the future success of the firm. An important initial decision is whether or not to start the new venture from home or from a separate location. In this paper, we examine the impact of firm-location decisions on the resource assembly process. Resource assembly is the first step taken by entrepreneurs to begin building a resource base, and it involves gaining ownership or control over resources. Our findings indicate that resource profiles significantly differ by location. In addition, away-based businesses assemble significantly higher counts of physical, financial, and organizational resources.

Conditions for growth in one-person startups: a longitudinal study spanning eight years

In the European Union, one-person businesses (OPBs) are increasingly regarded as an important alternative to dependent employment. From an economic policy standpoint, the growth potential of such businesses is especially attractive. This paper analyzes the growth potential of OPBs by postulating five key groups of enterprise growth predictors: personal traits, resources, strategy, industry, and organizational structures and systems. The framework model was adapted to suit the specific circumstances of OPBs. The model was tested using a longitudinal data set comprising 188 OPBs which were observed over a period of eight years. At the end of the observation period, the OPBs included in the study had an average of 1.33 employees. The gender of the founder, capital requirements at the time of establishment, and growth strategy proved to be the most important predictors of growth. In addition, human capital resources also tended to have a positive impact. The traits of the person founding the business were not found to affect growth. In summary, it is possible to draw empirically reliable conclusions about growth potential on the basis of the «seriousness» of an OPB startup project.

Scientific entrepreneurship in the materials and life science industries

Scientists constantly generate great ideas in the laboratory and, as most of us were meant to believe, we should publish or perish. After all, what use is a great scientific idea if it is not shared with the rest of the scientific community? What some scientists forget is that a good idea can be worth something - sometimes it can be worth a lot (of money)! What do you do if you believe that your idea has some commercial potential? How do you turn this idea into a business? This chapter gives the aspiring scientific entrepreneur some (hopefully) valuable advice on topics like choosing the right people for your management team, determining inventorship of the technology and ownership shares in the new company, protecting your intellectual property, and others; finally, it describes some of the various pitfalls you may encounter when commercializing an early stage technology and instructions on how to avoid them.

Growth and resilience of pioneering nonprofit human service organizations: a cross-case analysis of organizational histories

Knowledge of organizational history is important for recognizing patterns in effective management and understanding how organizations respond to internal and external challenges. This cross-case analysis of 12 histories of pioneering nonprofit human service organizations contributes an important longitudinal perspective on organizational history, complementing the cross-sectional case studies that dominate the existing research on nonprofit organizations. The literature on organizational growth, including lifecycle models and growth management, is reviewed, along with the literature on organizational resilience. Based on analysis of the 12 organizational histories, a conceptual model is presented that synthesizes key factors in the areas of leadership, internal operations, and external relations that influence organizational growth and resilience to enable nonprofit organizations to survive and thrive over time. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal examples from the organizational histories illustrate the conceptual map. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future research on nonprofit organizational history.

Freedom to innovate

Clinicians discuss the benefits and challenges of the community foundation trust model for delivering healthcare services in England.

Increasing equity of access to point-of-use water treatment products through social marketing and entrepreneurship: a case study in western Kenya

Point-of-use water chlorination reduces diarrhoea risk by 25-85%. Social marketing has expanded access to inexpensive sodium hypochlorite for water treatment, at a cost of less than US$0.01 per day, in Kenya. To increase product access, women's groups in western Kenya were trained to educate neighbours and sell health products to generate income. We evaluated this programme's impact on equity of access to water treatment products in a cross-sectional survey. We surveyed 487 randomly selected households in eight communities served by the women's groups. Overall, 20% (range 5-39%) of households in eight communities purchased and used chlorine, as confirmed by residual chlorine observed in stored water. Multivariate models using illiteracy and the poorest socioeconomic status as a referent showed that persons with at least some primary education (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.8, 3.5) or secondary education (OR 5.4, 95% CI 1.6, 17.5) and persons in the four wealthiest quintiles (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.0, 6.0) were more likely to chlorinate stored water. While this implementation model was associated with good product penetration and use, barriers to access to inexpensive water treatment remained among the very poor and less educated.

The QNI is open-minded when it comes to social enterprise

It cannot have escaped the notice of any community nurse in England that current Government policy favours the development of social enterprises as delivery vehicles for community services. And since social enterprise is neither a new invention, nor confined to health or social care purposes, community nurses across the UK must be watching with interest to see if this form of business has any potential to deliver their own professional (or private) good ideas.

Building today's platform company

For entrepreneurs developing innovative technology, the platform business model is making a comeback.