Theoretical Advances in the Scholarship of Policy Entrepreneurship: Drawing From Disparate Literatures, Expanding the Empirical Field

Abstract

This symposium examines the theoretical and empirical advancement of policy entrepreneurship scholarship, addressing a field that has grown significantly over the past four decades. This symposium contributes to the theoretical advancement of policy entrepreneurship through five papers that integrate modern entrepreneurship literature, synthesize frameworks into new models, and explore policy entrepreneurship across diverse contexts. Contributions include Hand and Birkhead's integration of opportunity creation theories and identification of distinct “species” of policy entrepreneurs, and Arslangulov and Ackrill's Multi-Level Governance and Strategy model for sustainability transitions. Arnold et al. demonstrate that policy entrepreneurship may enhance transformative governance capacity more than fiscal or political resources, while Taylor et al. extend research beyond elite influence to examine public behavior during policy implementation. Finally, Eriksson et al., explore expert-entrepreneurs' persistence in reorganizing Sweden's fire and rescue services. The symposium addresses policy entrepreneurship's relevance in increasingly complex policy environments spanning multiple domains and jurisdictions facing transformation pressures. Future research directions include challenging the normativity of policy entrepreneurship, establishing rigorous identification methods, and developing sophisticated measures beyond binary classifications. The work emphasizes the importance of micro-level policymaking dynamics, particularly when institutions fail to preserve democratic values in crisis contexts.