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Impact Investing: A Primer and Review of the Literature

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  • Clarkin John E.

    (Department of Management, Northern Kentucky University, College of Business BC 335 Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, Kentucky 41099, USA)

  • L. Cangioni Carole

    (Department of Management, Northern Kentucky University, College of Business BC 351 Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, Kentucky 41099, USA)

Abstract

Once viewed at opposite ends of a spectrum, financial investment and philanthropy are becoming partners in social enterprise development. Impact investing (II) is one of the most innovative ways to bring the resources of the world’s financial markets to the world’s seemingly intractable problems. Since its emergence from the socially responsible investment field, interest in II has grown substantially among a wide variety of practitioners and service providers throughout the world, although scholarly work in the field is scarce. To stimulate interest in this topic, this paper provides a primer and review of the current knowledge base in II. Our wide search of resources on the topic revealed potential contributions from the legal, financial, social entrepreneurship, and project management literature. We found several themes in our synthesis of the reports, articles and surveys included in our study, and several areas where gaps were evident. In general, practitioners focused on the opportunities of II and its potential, while few studies addressed the challenges associated with its implementation. Because II is not a panacea and is inappropriate for many social enterprises, opportunities exist for studies that rigorously examine the applicability and efficacy of II initiatives. This review of the literature provides scholars with an overview of II and a large number of potential resources to aid in their efforts to advance the knowledge base in the field.

Suggested Citation

  • Clarkin John E. & L. Cangioni Carole, 2016. "Impact Investing: A Primer and Review of the Literature," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 6(2), pages 135-173, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:erjour:v:6:y:2016:i:2:p:135-173:n:1
    DOI: 10.1515/erj-2014-0011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Antony Bugg-Levine & Jed Emerson, 2011. "Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money while Making a Difference," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 6(3), pages 9-18, July.
    2. Wayne Silby, 2011. "Impact Investing: Frontier Stories," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 6(3), pages 3-8, July.
    3. Madeleine Evans, 2013. "Meeting the challenge of impact investing: how can contracting practices secure social impact without sacrificing performance?," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 138-154, April.
    4. Nino Antadze & Frances R. Westley, 2012. "Impact Metrics for Social Innovation: Barriers or Bridges to Radical Change?," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 133-150, October.
    5. Edward T. Jackson, 2013. "Interrogating the theory of change: evaluating impact investing where it matters most," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 95-110, April.
    6. Chong, Paul & Kleemann, Linda, 2011. "The future of funding for social enterprises," Kiel Policy Brief 34, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    7. Post, Colleen & Meyskens, Moriah, 2008. "Social venture strategy from a resource based perspective: an exploratory study assessing Ashoka Fellows," MPRA Paper 8881, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. John Simon & Julia Barmeler, 2010. "More than Money: Impact Investing for Development," Working Papers id:3299, eSocialSciences.
    9. Antony Bugg-Levine & John Goldstein, 2009. "Impact investing: harnessing capital markets to solve problems at scale," Community Development Innovation Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue 2, pages 30-41.
    10. Margot Brandenburg, 2010. "Making the case for social metrics and impact investing," Community Development Innovation Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue 01, pages 47-49.
    11. David Wood & Ben Thornley & Katie Grace, 2013. "Institutional impact investing: practice and policy," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 75-94, April.
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    2. Cojoianu, Theodor F. & Hoepner, Andreas G.F. & Lin, Yanan, 2022. "Private market impact investing firms: Ownership structure and investment style," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

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