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This study addresses the intersection of team gender composition, social entrepreneurship and new venture performance, aiming to understand the unique dynamics shaping these areas. The authors discuss why female and diverse founding teams often gravitate toward social ventures and explore the relevance of this phenomenon. By investigating the impact on new venture performance, this study examines the effect of team diversity in the context of social entrepreneurship.

The study is based on a survey among new ventures in Austria. Data from 326 new ventures were analyzed using linear and logistic regression analysis. Drawing on gender role theory, the effect of diverse and female founding teams on the amount of acquired external capital was tested, emphasizing how social goals may serve as a signaling mechanism to investors.

In line with gender role theory, the study confirms that female and diverse founding teams are more inclined to establish social ventures. While the authors find empirical support for this assertion, there was no evidence found for a second assertion by the gender role theory stating that social entrepreneurship can specifically reduce gender bias with respect to external equity funding of new ventures. Contrary to expectations, the tendency of female and diverse founding teams to prioritize social goals hinders their ability to secure external equity. Furthermore, this research indicates that gender-diverse and all-female teams achieve lower levels of employment growth compared to all-male teams. These results provide insights into the relationship between team composition and venture performance.

Adding to gender role literature, this research expands the current understanding of how team gender diversity and social entrepreneurship affect venture performance. The study indicates a high prevalence of social entrepreneurship among gender-diverse teams and highlights specific challenges faced by female and gender-diverse founding teams. The findings underpin the need for a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by female and gender-diverse teams in the entrepreneurship area. By addressing these dynamics, the study offers valuable insights and recommendations for policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs, laying a foundation for future research into promoting gender equality and fostering inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Health professionals play a crucial role in addressing the climate crisis and contributing to sustainable development. However, despite urgent calls from experts and health professions students, tertiary education currently lacks fit-for-purpose planetary health curricula. This study aims to provide a comprehensive, Australia-wide examination of planetary health curricula offered within two health professions: nutrition and dietetics.

This mixed-method study involved two phases. Firstly, content analysis of publicly available unit titles and descriptions to determine the frequency and distribution of relevant curricula. Secondly, content and inductive thematic analysis of relevant learning outcomes, guided by Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy to assess the level of cognitive learning and the subject matter being prioritised.

Examination of 104 degrees offered by 41 Australian universities identified relevant curricula in 71 nutrition degrees (84%) and 18 dietetics degrees (95%). Majority of relevant learning outcomes (n = 137) focus on lower-order cognitive learning, with 11 themes of subject matter identified; planetary health, critiquing the status quo, innovation and disruption, equity, values-based practice and evidence-based practice, (dietary modification, food service in health-care settings, food and nutrition policy, food system drivers and elements of the food supply chain.

This study identified an increase in coverage of planetary health curricula in Australian nutrition and dietetics degrees compared to previous examinations and the need for higher-order learning to adequately equip the future health workforce.

The aim of this study is to describe the application of the Learning from Excellence (LfE) approach in supporting a learning-oriented use of performance measures and continuous quality improvement in breast cancer (BC) care.

Using a mix-method research, the BC pathway is evaluated among 12 Italian regions/autonomous provinces sharing the same Performance Measurement System. The study was conducted in three stages: (1) identification of the best performing geographical areas through quantitative evidence; (2) analysis of the best practices with qualitative methods; (3) professional engagement and quality improvement, and involvement of stakeholders.

In the quantitative phase, the performances of 50 geographical areas were analyzed, leading to the identification of two best performing areas. After the characterization of the organizational determinants featuring the best performers’ practices, the professionals were involved through on-site workshops, implementing a learning-oriented use of performance measures, benchmarking and team reflexivity on performance results. The intervention implied the modelling and assessment of the best performers’ pathways, complementing performance measures with experience-based information. The models of the two areas were compared and hypothesis of care improvement were discussed. Feedback, reflexivity, networking and culture reinforcement were enacted among all the network professionals. In the last stage, the results were publicly presented allowing all stakeholders to recognize and appreciate the collaborative effort produced for the care of BC women and, leveraging on the logic of benchmarking, the stakeholders where able to identify generable performance improvements.

This study provides evidence about the potential benefits of implementing LfE as a total quality management practice for care pathways.