IMPROVING PERFORMANCE IN US STATE GOVERNMENTS Risk-Taking, Innovativeness, and Proactiveness Practices

Public sector entrepreneurship is an approach to reinventing government that has been applied in public and nonprofit settings to stimulate better performance. The mind-set of public entrepreneurship (i.e., risk-taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness) is expected to cultivate more competitive and productive environments in organizations. This study examines the effects of public entrepreneurial characteristics on organizational performance in 296 U.S. state agencies. The results indicate that taking risks, being innovative, and being proactive contribute positively to organizational performance. Proactiveness is the most influential factor of the three for achieving improved performance. The results suggest that state governments can better leverage their strategies and resources, become more action oriented and opportunity driven, and take advantage of cutting-edge opportunities by adopting entrepreneurial characteristics.