PublicationArticle (with peer review)

How Fares the Entrepreneurial State? Empirical Evidence of Mission-Led Innovation Projects Around the Globe

Abstract

While considerable efforts have been made to conceptualize and outline the theoretical and normative logic of mission-oriented innovation policies and the role of the entrepreneurial state, there is a stark lack of empirical studies concerning how missions are designed and executed, and when they may work or do not. This monograph reviews theoretical rationales for mission-oriented innovation policy and provides an empirical overview of 30 articles which together cover 51 concluded or ongoing missions from around the world. We synthetize varieties of mission formulations, actors involved, and analyze characteristics of missions described as more or less failed or successful. Among the projects analyzed, many do not fulfill common definitions of “innovation missions.” Missions related to technological or agricultural innovations seem more often successful than broader types of missions aimed at social or ecological challenges, and challenges in the governance and evaluation of missions remain unresolved in the literature. None of the mission cases contain a cost-benefit analysis or takes opportunity cost into consideration.

Batbaatar, M., Larsson, J. P., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, K. (2024). How Fares the Entrepreneurial State? Empirical Evidence of Mission-Led Innovation Projects Around the Globe. Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship, 19(8), 664-772.

Details

Author: Batbaatar, M., Larsson, J. P., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, K.
Publication year: 2024
Published in: Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship, 19(8), 664-772.

Related

Similar content

Article (with peer review)

Principal instructional leadership and teacher collaboration: A longitudinal study of the influence on pupil achievement

Persson, R., Demir, E. K., & Wennberg, K.

Publication year

2025

Published in

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

Abstract

We study the effects of principal instructional leadership on pupil educational achievement using longitudinal data of 120,394 teacher responses across 1919 schools in Sweden over 9 years. Through multilevel structural equation modelling, we test how teacher ratings of principal leadership influence indicators of educational achievement and the extent to which this effect is channelled through a collaborative teacher culture in schools. Findings suggest that teacher collaboration partly mediates the relationship between principal instructional leadership and pupil educational achievement in terms of final year grade point average. However, concerning final year standardised test scores, principal instructional leadership alone has a stronger relationship to school performance than teacher collaboration. The longitudinal analysis suggests these patterns are driven by relatively stable differences between schools rather than dynamic changes in schools over time, indicating that variation in school contexts such as culture, organisational structure, and leadership practices persist over time. We discuss implications for research, practice, and policy on school leadership and teacher collaboration.

Article (with peer review)

Director turnover in new venture boards: From homophilous to resource-contingent processes

Balachandran, C., & Wennberg, K.

Publication year

2025

Published in

Journal of Business Venturing

Abstract

Boards are a vital resource for early-stage ventures, offering advice, funding connections, and strategic guidance — especially when directors bring diverse expertise. Yet, as ventures grow and succeed, that diversity can erode. Our study of over 28,000 Swedish ownermanaged firms shows that directors whose expertise differs from that of the founder(s) are more likely to leave—not during hardship, but when the business is performing well. Interviews with several founders and directors further suggest that as ventures mature, they increasingly rely on internal capabilities and shift toward boards that reflect the founder’s evolving preferences. These dynamics lead to more homogenous boards over time, potentially narrowing the range of perspectives available in the board. For founders and policymakers, the findings highlight a key challenge: keeping diverse directors around not just at the start, but as the company scales.

Article (with peer review)

The emergence and impact of the entrepreneurship industry

Brattström, A., Eabrasu, M., Hunt, R., Sandström, C., & Wennberg, K.

Publication year

2025

Published in

Small Business Economics

Abstract

This special issue introduces the concept of the “entrepreneurship industry” (EI), a rapidly expanding global sector comprising actors, services, and infrastructures that promote and commodify entrepreneurial activity. Moving beyond traditional demand-side views of entrepreneurship, the issue explores how EI shapes entrepreneurial behavior through cultural norms, institutional structures, and policy interventions. The six featured articles examine diverse facets of EI, including its cultural biases, framing dynamics, venture production regimes, intermediary roles, and sector-specific support mechanisms. Collectively, these contributions reveal how EI influences who becomes an entrepreneur, what ventures are legitimized, and how success is defined. The issue also highlights the paradoxes and unintended consequences of EI, such as exclusionary practices and innovation theater. By conceptualizing entrepreneurship as an industry, the issue opens new avenues for research into the socio-political construction of entrepreneurial ecosystems and calls for more inclusive, context-sensitive approaches in policy, education, and practice.