The concept of strategic entrepreneurship has received increased attention over the past ten years. Viewed as the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy, this field of research is populated by conceptual studies which focus mainly on the nature and perceived benefits of strategic entrepreneurship. Similarly, the study of entrepreneurship in a public sector context has gained increasing support in recent years, but also remains underexplored. To address these gaps, this thesis considers: What are the underlying elements and financial implications of strategic entrepreneurship in New Zealand's state-owned enterprises SOEs]? New Zealand's SOE sector, comprising 17 government-owned, commercially focused organisations, is considered to be a prime subject for this research. Well known for their implementation of new public management NPM], many New Zealand SOEs have also been publicly recognised as both innovative and entrepreneurial. The research question is addressed by first developing a preliminary framework of strategic entrepreneurship from literature on entrepreneurship and strategy. This framework is then examined in the context of case studies on activity.

The combination of entrepreneurship and strategy is gaining increasing recognition as a pathway for growth within both individual organisations and national economies. Hence the benefits emerge from both a micro and macro economic perspective. Essentially, however, research on strategic entrepreneurship, being the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy remains in the early stages. While the benefits of combining entrepreneurship and strategy are well established, strategic entrepreneurship as a concept remains under-developed and unsubstantiated. Thus the question arises as to what constitutes strategic entrepreneurship? In order to address this issue a preliminary framework of strategic entrepreneurship is derived from the literature on entrepreneurship and strategy, in order to identify the intersection of the two. This framework is then examined in the context of activity which is recognised as both entrepreneurial and strategic within three state-owned enterprises. Findings identify a number of elements as central to strategic entrepreneurship, as well as a number of supporting elements, providing the potential for both competitive advantage and wealth creation.