Entrepreneurial Public Private Partnerships: The Case of the Boulder Energy Challenge

Abstract

This study explores an innovative public-private partnership that leverages the flexibility and docility of private entrepreneurial start-ups to address a public goal. In 2014, the city of Boulder, Colorado launched the Boulder Energy Challenge (BEC) to partner with local entrepreneurs to reduce and mitigate the impact of carbon emissions. Through an inductive study of the two BEC cohorts over a four-year period, we find that the success of an entrepreneurial public private partnership is driven through the establishment of systems that enable collaboration of the governmental, entrepreneurial, and market logics. Examining the organizational structure and social innovation process of this unique case study expands our understanding of how policy makers and entrepreneurs can form unique organizations to address pressing environmental issues. Our findings bridge the literature on entrepreneurship, public-private partnerships and institutional logics to offer a new model of entrepreneurial collective action.