A long‐term perspective on entrepreneurial strategies and their impact on British road policy

Abstract

AbstractThe case study presented in this paper combines citation and discourse network analyses to explore entrepreneurial strategies and their long‐term impact on public policy. The analysis draws on and develops previously published research that documents entrepreneurial influences on British road policy since the 1980s. Drawing in particular upon evidence presented in the 2013 Action for Roads White Paper, we conclude that it is not enough to focus research on a policy entrepreneur's capacity to mobilize a majority for policy change through skillful leadership and the strategic use of expertise and social capital to gain the expected benefits. Studies must also take into account the fact that once influential individuals may still impact legislation in an advisory capacity by focusing resources on a particular arena. More importantly, this strategy can, in the long term, explain why British road policy tends to remain relatively stable.