Public policies in a regulated entrepreneurial setting

Abstract

The existing literature in public policy has commented mostly on mature and established businesses, leaving the relationships between entrepreneurial businesses and public policies less explored. Relying on qualitative research methods and quantitative surveys, we examine how managers in an intensively regulated entrepreneurial setting assessed the desirability of public policies. We show that managers in the regulated energy efficiency and renewable (EERE) business sector in the 1990s tended to view public policies favorably only if they lacked control over the business environment. The less control they perceived they had over the business environment, the more favorably they tended to view public policies. Our findings suggest that managers in a regulated entrepreneurial setting tend to view public policies as substitutes for their efforts to control their business environment, not as complements, as studies of mature and established companies in regulated settings commonly find. However, we also find some evidence to suggest these perceptions may evolve, as a business experiences greater success attracting customers.