Entrepreneurial Exit Response to Dissatisfaction With Public Services

Abstract

Following Hirschman's seminal Exit, Voice and Loyalty, an exit response to dissatisfaction with public services is often portrayed as a replacement of one service provider with another, depending on the availability of alternatives. This article enriches Hirschman's typology by conceptualising an ‘entrepreneurial exit' response referring to citizens who exit proactively by creating a viable alternative themselves. The practical aspects of entrepreneurial exit are analysed based on five manifestations: planned homebirth, homeschooling, urban self‐defence groups, children with disabilities, and claim clubs in the American West. Whereas citizens' roles within the public service sphere are referred to as ‘participators’, ‘customers’, and ‘co‐producers', entrepreneurial exit indicates the entrepreneurial role citizens may play. Similar to the additional forms of exit, entrepreneurial exit becomes meaningful if the newly introduced form of service gains social acceptance, especially when it reflects policy non‐compliance within which laymen are transformed into providers of professional services.

Collaborative housing and housing providers: towards an analytical framework of multi-stakeholder collaboration in housing co-production

“…This can be described using Gofen's (2012Gofen's ( , 2015 concept of 'entrepreneurial exit', which denotes 'the proactive initiation, production, and delivery of alternative service by citizens, mainly for their own use' (Gofen, 2015, p. 405).…”

“…This would happen, for example, when tenants of housing associations or future residents in a housing development are asked about their preferences with regards to a specific action by the provider, following Arnstein's notion of consultation in her 'ladder of participation ' (1969). The highest end of this continuum is represented by Gofen's (2012) 'entrepreneurial exit (EE)', which in housing could take the form of (almost) entirely self-organised and self-managed housing projects by residents.…”

Citizens’ Entrepreneurial Role in Public Service Provision

“…Whereas exit response customarily implies that citizens are reactive to viable alternatives John 2008, 2012;Hirschman 1970; as well as Lyons and Lowery 1989), EE refers to a proactive exit in which citizens, dissatisfied with the form or quality of a public service, end or ignore their relationship with a governmental provider of the service. Simultaneously, they create an alternative rather than choosing among existing possibilities (Gofen 2012). By transforming laymen into providers of professional services previously borne by government, EE undermines current provision arrangements.…”

“…Nevertheless, occasionally citizens may undermine current provision and may even practice noncompliance by proactively initiating an alternative form of service, either individually or in a small group. Referred to as 'entrepreneurial exit' response (Gofen 2012), henceforth EE, it denotes proactive initiation, production, and delivery of alternative services by citizens, mainly for their own use (e.g., deciding to homeschool, to give birth at home, or to construct a religious service building or a community garden on public land). Whereas exit response customarily implies that citizens are reactive to viable alternatives John 2008, 2012;Hirschman 1970; as well as Lyons and Lowery 1989), EE refers to a proactive exit in which citizens, dissatisfied with the form or quality of a public service, end or ignore their relationship with a governmental provider of the service.…”

Making a Difference: Strategic Positioning in Municipal Reputation Building

“…Such programs are primarily intended to attract new residents, tourists, and business ventures, but they also have favourable internal effects: By acquiring a strong reputation, local residents can be expected to identify more positively with their municipality, evidenced by, for example, higher levels of pride and local patriotism ("loyalty") and reduced rates of "exit" responses (e.g. moving to a different municipality), especially if combined with structural possibilities for participating and influencing the local community ("voice") (Hirschman 1970, Gofen 2012, Dowding and John 2012.…”