Entrepreneurship Education to Cultivate Innovation in Dentistry

Abstract

Recognizing the instrumental role of innovation and entrepreneurship in dentistry, the ultimate goal of this dissertation was to explore how can we better prepare dental professionals to develop entrepreneurial mindsets and skills, equipping and motivating them to engage in innovations and become change agents in the field. This study built on insights gained from in-depth case studies of three very different "entrepreneurial dental professionals", informed by the overarching research question: How can dental professionals be better prepared to successfully engage in innovations in their field? More specifically, the study addressed the following research questions to provide valuable guidance for the design and implementation of entrepreneurship education courses tailored for dental professionals: 1. What entrepreneurial mindsets and practices are employed by successful entrepreneurial dental professionals? 2. What characteristics of successful entrepreneurial dental professionals' environments supported or hindered their ability to be entrepreneurial? 3. What should be the instructional goals and key learning experiences of a course on entrepreneurship for dental professionals? Data were collected through three rounds of semi-structured interviews with each case-study subject, along with documents and publicly available artifacts relevant to each subject. These included written documents, business plans, organizational records, annual reports, brochures, marketing materials, websites, media clippings, and published or unpublished work by or about the subjects. For each data subset (interview transcripts and artifacts), a case study database was developed, using a priori categories based on the conceptual framework, that were further refined as needed during the analysis. The study resulted in a narrative report for each case, followed by a cross-case analysis that identified common themes, trends, similarities, and differences across cases. Building on findings from these case studies, a conceptual analysis was conducted to identify instructional goals, learning experiences, and other considerations to guide the design of future entrepreneurship education courses. This study was underpinned by several theories related to entrepreneurship and education. Entrepreneurship was explored through multiple theoretical lenses, categorized into three main levels of analysis: 1) Micro (individual) level, 2) Macro (policymakers) level, and 3) Meso (organizational) level. Additionally, Social Theory of Learning and Identity Theory informed the investigation of how dental professionals learn entrepreneurship, develop an entrepreneurial identity, and how other contextual factors may influence their entrepreneurial activities. The study makes notable contributions to the field of dental education first of all by identifying a set of entrepreneurial practices and factors that can affect the success of entrepreneurial dentists, and then deriving implications for instructional goals and learning experiences to be included in entrepreneurship education for dental professionals. Another contribution of this study are the detailed narratives capturing the entrepreneurial journeys of accomplished dental professionals, which could serve as reading materials in entrepreneurship offerings for dentists, giving students access to authentic, case-based learning experiences that illustrate the challenges and successes of entrepreneurship in dentistry.