HOW TO MAKE AN ENTREPRENEURIAL STATE: WHY INNOVATION NEEDS BUREAUCRACY. By Rainer Kattel, Wolfgang Drechsler, and Erkki Karo. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2022, 288 pp., ISBN:9780300227277

Abstract

 “How to Make an Entrepreneurial State: Why Innovation Needs Bureaucracy” by Rainer Kattel, Wolfgang Drechsler, and Erkki Karo offers an analytical approach to creating successful “innovation bureaucracies” with a wealth of exemplary policies, practices, and institutions observed throughout the post-Second World War era. The book defines the quality of “agile stability” that the public sector needs to create in order to solve next-generation problems. As its title speaks, its main argument is: “Innovation needs bureaucracy.” Therefore, the authors give a detailed account of how public institutions create, do (perform), fund, intermediate, and rule (administer/coordinate). The book gives a detailed account of these typologies of innovation institutions, from the US’s DARPA to Sweden’s Vinnova. It is a reference source for students, scientists, practitioners, and anyone who cares about innovating successfully and developing prosperous societies while facing tomorrow’s challenges.
Keywords: agile stability, innovation bureaucracies, neo-Weberian innovation agencies.