Title: Non-profit entrepreneurship: extending the concept of profit opportunities

Authors: Peter M. Frank

Addresses: Assistant Professor of Economics, Wingate University, Wingate, NC, USA

Abstract: Entrepreneurship theory helps explain the market process and the means by which economic development occurs. The non-profit sector is an increasingly important component of economic development, yet the entrepreneurial process within this sector is largely unexplained. By expanding the economic literature on entrepreneurship, this paper establishes a conceptual framework for understanding the decision-making process of the non-profit entrepreneur. Extending the market notion of profit opportunities, the non-profit entrepreneur creatively acts in a non-market context by establishing an organisation that helps to coordinate individual plans and purposes.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; incentives; non-profit institutions; non-profit entrepreneurs; decision making; profit opportunities.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEIM.2006.009876

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2006 Vol.6 No.3, pp.224 - 240

Published online: 21 May 2006 *

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