The scientific discussion of stakeholder involvement in social return on investment analysis? A systematic literature review

Stakeholder involvement is an essential part of conducting social return on investment evaluations (SROI). This systematic literature review takes stock of the scholarly discussion of how stakeholders are defined, identified, and involved during SROI evaluations, including the involvement of vulnerable groups as key stakeholders of evaluated projects or organisations in the social sector. The author searched three databases Google Scholar, SCOPUS, and Web of Science for peer-reviewed articles published in English between 1996 and 2022, where the term ‘Social Return on Investment’ or the abbreviation ‘SROI’ was found in titles, abstracts or author keywords and also in the main text. All articles that used the phrase or abbreviation in the sense of the SROI framework and discussed any of its aspects were included in the review. Articles solely focusing on the results of a conducted SROI evaluation were excluded, while case studies discussing the application of the SROI framework were included. As a result, 101 peer-reviewed articles published between 2004 and 2022 were found to meet the inclusion criteria for the review. Qualitative data analysis with MAXQDA revealed strong agreement on the definition of stakeholders and underline prior findings of inconsistencies in choosing and involving stakeholders. The review further uncovers strategies and methods applicable for future evaluations, which also enable the successful involvement of vulnerable groups. These findings address critical issues of the SROI framework that contribute to furthering the scholarly debate and may even enhance the approaches to involving stakeholders in social impact evaluations in general.