Corporate social entrepreneurship in the aged care industry: a pilot study

This paper assesses the findings of a pilot study on an aged care facility to act entrepreneurially and support innovation to deliver resident valued services and meet policy guidelines that are aligned to community and government expectations and standards. The efficacy of a validated survey instrument ((Ireland, Kuratko, Morris, 2006a) is tested to: identify the opportunities for corporate social entrepreneurship within the aged care industry; evaluate the role of the board, management, and staff as care providers in targeted innovation initiatives; and contribute to a model for sustainable corporate entrepreneurship. Preliminary analysis indicates that the health audit as developed by Ireland et al 2006 will be a relevant instrument to assess the propensity for corporate social entrepreneurship within aged care organisations. The assessment of the entrepreneurial climate enables the organisation to assess, evaluate and manage the internal work environment in ways that support entrepreneurial behaviour and the use of a corporate social entrepreneurship strategy.