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phd_Loeffelu
Doctoral thesis

Entrepreneurial orientation in the third sector

BP2-STS

  • Fribourg, Switzerland, 2025

1 ressource en ligne (205 pages) ; 1 fichier pdf

PhD: Université de Fribourg (Suisse), 11.11.2024

becoming
business-like
entrepreneurial orientation
performance
cooperatives
non-profit organizations
associations sans but lucratif
coopératives
gestion d'entreprise
efficacité de l'organisation
planification stratégique
logement coopératif
soins à domicile
Suisse
English Policy reforms based on neoliberalism lead to competition and pressure from stakeholders to operate more efficiently, forcing third-sector organizations to adapt. Consequently, they adopt widespread practices within their (new) frame of reference (also known as becoming business-like). An entrepreneurial strategy, characterized by innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking, increases organizations’ competitive flexibility and is a means to deal with changes in the regulatory environment. However, there are unanswered questions about the impact of an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on different dimensions of organizational success, the determinants of EO and whether adopting an EO is as effective for organizations that are not purely profit-oriented. The dissertation examines these questions based on a study of cooperatives and a comparative study between non-profit and for-profit homecare organizations. It finds a positive effect of an EO on market-related performance and, indirectly, on member-related and social performance. Furthermore, it shows that collective characteristics of organizations (intra- and inter-organizational cooperation) can be combined with business-like practices to increase performance. Second, examining the determinants of EO in cooperatives, it is shown that networking resources are the most important antecedents of EO besides the external environment. Finally, comparative research reveals that non-profit homecare organizations have lower levels of EO but that these differences do not translate into better performance in the homecare sector. The dissertation discusses the implications of these findings and provides evidence on whether business-like practices such as an EO can address the challenges organizations of the third sector face in the current market environment.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences économiques et sociales et du management
Language
  • English
Classification
Economics
Notes
  • Bibliographie
License
CC BY-NC
Open access status
diamond
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/331320
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