The State of the Entrepreneurial State: Empirical Evidence of Mission-Led Innovation Projects around the Globe

Maral Batbaatar (), Christian Sandström (), Johan P Larsson () and Karl Wennberg ()
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Maral Batbaatar: The Ratio Institute, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 5095, SE-102 42 Stockholm, Sweden, http://www.ratio.se
Christian Sandström: The Ratio Institute, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 5095, SE-102 42 Stockholm, Sweden, http://www.ratio.se
Johan P Larsson: The Ratio Institute, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 5095, SE-102 42 Stockholm, Sweden, http://www.ratio.se
Karl Wennberg: The Ratio Institute, Postal: The Ratio Institute, P.O. Box 5095, SE-102 42 Stockholm, Sweden, http://www.ratio.se

No 368, Ratio Working Papers from The Ratio Institute

Abstract: This paper reviews theoretical rationales for mission-oriented innovation policy and provides an empirical overview of extant 28 papers and 49 cases on the topic. We synthetize varieties of mission formulations, actors involved, and characteristics of missions described as more or less failed or successful. 59 percent of the studied missions are still ongoing, 33 percent are considered successful and 8 percent as failures. 67 percent of the studied missions have taken place in Europe, 24 percent in North America and 8 percent in Asia. The majority of innovation projects referred to as missions do not fulfill the criteria defined by the OECD. Results suggest that missions related to technological or agricultural innovations are more often successful than broader types of missions aimed at social or ecological challenges. Challenges regarding the governance and evaluation of missions remain unresolved in the literature. We find no case that contains a cost-benefit analysis or takes opportunity cost into account.

Keywords: Innovation; Government agencies; Mission-oriented Policies; Grand societal challenges (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H11 H50 L26 L52 O32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19 pages
Date: 2023-12-15
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent, nep-eur, nep-ino and nep-sbm
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