TY  - JOUR
U1  - Zeitschriftenartikel, wissenschaftlich - begutachtet (reviewed)
A1  - Paunović, Ivan
A1  - Apostolopoulos, Sotiris
A1  - Miljković, Ivana Božić
A1  - Stojanović, Miloš
T1  - Sustainable Rural Healthcare Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Serbia
JF  - Sustainability
N2  - This article deals with the under-researched phenomenon of rural health entrepreneurship and its major characteristics. The purpose of this study is to explicate the process of providing health services in rural areas of a developing country and their relation to SDGs. The paper is based on six semi-structured interviews conducted with Serbian health entrepreneurs in rural areas (two private practices, two policlinics, and two dental practices), a review of laws and strategies relevant to the field, and three sessions of discussions with eight experts (four authors and four additional experts). The research methodology follows an empirical, mixed-method case study research procedure. The results are presented in relation to the aspects of frugality, family orientation, and sustainability-oriented innovation. The timeline of the six case studies demonstrates the increasing importance of health entrepreneurs in rural areas due to the aging population and, therefore, increased needs for quality healthcare in these areas. The financing instruments have also become more formal and substantial in recent years, enabling the growth of healthcare businesses in rural areas. However, a major obstacle to further sustainable development remains the non-refundability of services before the state-owned, obligatory health fund, creating major social inequalities, especially in rural areas.
KW  - rural entrepreneurship
KW  - COVID-19 pandemic
KW  - sustainable business models
KW  - health policy
KW  - frugal innovation
KW  - sustainability and innovation
KW  - case study methodology
KW  - sustainability-oriented innovation
KW  - family business
KW  - health management
UN  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hbz:1044-opus-77762
SN  - 2071-1050
SS  - 2071-1050
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031143
DO  - https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031143
VL  - 16
IS  - 3
SP  - 27
S1  - 27
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -