The impact of corporate entrepreneurship on financial performance of nonprofit organizations: The case of hospitals in Tennessee

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the impact of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) on financial performance of selected non-profit (NCPRO) hospitals in the state of Tennessee, and to summarize the CE process--the domain of CE as an organizational phenomenon was articulated and six CE types were emphasized: product and/or service innovation, risk-taking, strategic management, proactiveness, downsizing and diversification. This study differs from previous studies in that it extends the concept of CE to organizations that operate under goal structures, environmental pressures and leadership styles different from those of for-profit organizations. The study also emphasizes CE as a multidimensional construct.;To investigate the impact of entrepreneurial activities on financial performance of NCPRO hospitals in Tennessee, a canonical correlation analysis was used because it enabled us to simultaneously regress a set of criterion (dependent) variables on a set of predictor (independent) variables to bring out the functional relationships both within and between the two sets of variables.;This study concluded that there was a significant relationship between CE and selected financial performance variables. More specifically, carefully planned entrepreneurial strategies led to better performance of NCPRO hospitals.;Implications for health services administrators were primarily in the area of strategic management. There should be increased involvement of the medical staff (especially physicians). What distinguishes healthcare from other industries is the role played by physicians. Most physicians are not hospital employees, and many belong to the staff of competing institutions. What they do can affect all hospital decisions. Therefore, any strategic decision taken by a hospital should have the support of medical staff in order to succeed.;For academicians, it was suggested that future studies be geared toward longitudinal research in order to capture the long-term effects of innovation. Careful attention should also be focused on the variables used to measure CE.