The origins of policy ideas: The importance of think tanks in the enterprise policy process in the UK

There is no doubt that enterprise policy has become a popular choice for governments seeking to enhance economic growth, despite criticisms of its ineffectiveness. The purpose of this study is to understand the ways in which think tanks and their ideas shape the enterprise policy-making process: how enterprise policy ideas originate, who is involved, what sort of relationships exist between the stakeholders and how these relationships affect the overall process of enterprise policy-making. The application of institutional theory provides a detailed theoretical understanding of the process, the environment and the actors. Interviews with representatives from eight think tanks revealed that the ideas presented by think tanks to government have no formal process and are dominated by the relationships and informal channels of communication between key actors, allowing for an alternative focus on the origins of policy ideas as a possible explanation for the ineffectiveness of enterprise policy.