Innovation in the public sector: a systematic review and future research agenda

Abstract

This article brings together empirical academic research on public sector innovation. Via a systematic literature review, we investigate 181 articles and books on public sector innovation, published between 1990 and 2014. These studies are analysed based on the following themes: (1) the definitions of innovation, (2) innovation types, (3) goals of innovation, (4) antecedents of innovation and (5) outcomes of innovation. Based upon this analysis, we develop an empirically based framework of potentially important antecedents and effects of public sector innovation. We put forward three future research suggestions: (1) more variety in methods: moving from a qualitative dominance to using other methods, such as surveys, experiments and multi‐method approaches; (2) emphasize theory development and testing as studies are often theory‐poor; and (3) conduct more cross‐national and cross‐sectoral studies, linking for instance different governance and state traditions to the development and effects of public sector innovation.