Vannevar Bush: A Public Sector Entrepreneur
By Albert N. Link, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA, anlink@uncg.edu
Abstract
In this monograph, I define public sector entrepreneurship in terms of innovative public policy initiatives that generate greater economic prosperity by transforming a status quo economic environment into one that is more conducive to economic units engaging in creative activities in the face of uncertainty. Using that definition, I propose that Vannevar Bush is a quintessential example of a public sector entrepreneur. I then propose that the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 is an innovative public policy initiative that has ingredients of Bush’s philosophy about the role of government in technological advancement. Using Bush and the Bayh-Dole Act as examples of public sector entrepreneurship, I conclude the monograph with framework that might serve as a unifying taxonomy for interpreting future research on public sector entrepreneurship.
Vannevar Bush: A Public Sector Entrepreneur
This monograph defines public sector entrepreneurship in terms of innovative public policy initiatives that generate greater economic prosperity by transforming a status quo economic environment into one that is more conducive to economic units engaging in creative activities in the face of uncertainty. Based on that definition, the author examines Vannevar Bush as an example of a public sector entrepreneur. Using Bush and the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 as an example of public sector entrepreneurship, the monograph provides a framework that can serve as a unifying taxonomy for interpreting future research on public sector entrepreneurship.
