Handbook of Public Administration, 3rd Edition

Chapter 14Advancing Public Good through Entrepreneurship

Wolfgang Bielefeld

Organizations widely uses entrepreneurship to produce and deliver public benefits. Public benefits are provided primarily by government, secondarily by nonprofit organizations, and on a selective basis by some for-profits. Since the latter third of the twentieth century, we have witnessed significant changes in the nature of public services and the organizations providing them because of the increasing severity and complexity of social problems; volatility of social, economic, and political environments; and the scarcity of resources.

Government is under increasing pressure to perform, and public sector entrepreneurship is seen as a way to improve public sector service ...