An Examination of Entrepreneurial Orientation, Environmental Scanning, and Market Strategies of Nonprofit and For-Profit Nursing Home Administrators

This study explores differences in entrepreneurial orientation (EO) by profit status. In addition to EO, other survey questions sought to determine how firms scanned the external market for information and the firm's view of external market volatility. The sample, collected in 2004, consisted of 134 nursing home administrators located in the state of Florida. The data were analyzed using generalized linear model. The results show that there was no significant difference in the EO between nonprofits and for-profits but that nonprofits were significantly more likely to engage in environmental scanning activities such as gathering information from trade magazines and suppliers and that they remained abreast of economic and technological trends more than their for-profit counterparts. Given the demands of the external market, nonprofits may find that developing strategies to better compete with for-profit firms is vital.