IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v75y2025ics0275531925000224.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A multistakeholder approach to impact investing: Focus on institutional investors and key dimensions

Author

Listed:
  • González G. Vega, Andrea
  • Olmo, Begoña Torre
  • de la Cuesta-González, Marta

Abstract

Impact investing has emerged as a promising sustainable investment strategy to advance environmental, social, and governance objectives. However, there is no theoretical consensus on its definition, and assessments of its widespread adoption across markets and integration into regulatory frameworks remain incomplete. This research explored the key dimensions of impact investing relevant to institutional investors: intentionality, additionality, attribution, returns, measurement and materiality. We sought to uncover factors that contribute to its unequal deployment across different layers of the financial sector and to identify further research avenues that could foster its broader application. To achieve this, a multistakeholder approach was employed. This involved a bibliometric review, a focus group with experts from diverse sectors (i.e. financial institutions, service providers, academia and non-profit organizations), a systematic review of the dimensions of impact investing, and a structured questionnaire administered to market practitioners. The findings underscore the need for tailored adjustments to the impact investing framework, particularly for listed equities, and advocate its incorporation into sustainable finance regulations. This study offers valuable contributions to both market practitioners and academia by identifying the first forms of consensus on this topic and incipient evidence for intentionality, additionality and attribution claims. Avenues for further research on risk mitigation mechanisms for institutional investors operating in private markets and the interaction of impact investing with sustainable finance European Union (EU) regulation schemes are also provided.

Suggested Citation

  • González G. Vega, Andrea & Olmo, Begoña Torre & de la Cuesta-González, Marta, 2025. "A multistakeholder approach to impact investing: Focus on institutional investors and key dimensions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:75:y:2025:i:c:s0275531925000224
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2025.102766
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531925000224
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2025.102766?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
    2. Chen, Suwen & Harrison, Richard, 2020. "Beyond profit vs. purpose: Transactional-relational practices in impact investing," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    3. Timo Busch & Peter Bruce-Clark & Jeroen Derwall & Robert Eccles & Tessa Hebb & Andreas Hoepner & Christian Klein & Philipp Krueger & Falko Paetzold & Bert Scholtens & Olaf Weber, 2021. "Impact investments: a call for (re)orientation," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 1-13, February.
    4. Sarah Louise Carroux & Timo Busch & Falko Paetzold, 2021. "Unlocking the black box of private impact investors," Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(1), pages 149-168, August.
    5. Susan D. Phillips & Bernadette Johnson, 2021. "Inching to Impact: The Demand Side of Social Impact Investing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 615-629, January.
    6. Audrey C. H. Cook, 2006. "Book Review: Young People in Europe," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 20(3), pages 615-616, September.
    7. Michael Moran & Libby Ward-Christie, 2022. "Blended Social Impact Investment Transactions: Why Are They So Complex?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1011-1031, September.
    8. Niels Hermes & Theo J.B.M. Postma & Orestis Zivkov, 2006. "Corporate governance codes in the European Union," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 2(4), pages 280-301, October.
    9. Block, Joern H. & Hirschmann, Mirko & Fisch, Christian, 2021. "Which criteria matter when impact investors screen social enterprises?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Watts, Natasha & Scales, Ivan R., 2020. "Social impact investing, agriculture, and the financialisation of development: Insights from sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    11. Kai Hockerts & Lisa Hehenberger & Stefan Schaltegger & Vanina Farber, 2022. "Defining and Conceptualizing Impact Investing: Attractive Nuisance or Catalyst?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 937-950, September.
    12. Kumari Juddoo & Issam Malki & Sudha Mathew & Sheeja Sivaprasad, 2023. "An impact investment strategy," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 177-211, July.
    13. Falko Paetzold & Timo Busch & Sebastian Utz & Anne Kellers, 2022. "Between impact and returns: Private investors and the sustainable development goals," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3182-3197, November.
    14. Jürgen Chrobog, 2006. "Europe and the new devision of labour: Introduction," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 7(03), pages 3-4, October.
    15. Shome, Samik & Hassan, M. Kabir & Verma, Sushma & Panigrahi, Tushar Ranjan, 2023. "Impact investment for sustainable development: A bibliometric analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 770-800.
    16. Bhagwan Chowdhry & Shaun William Davies & Brian Waters, 2019. "Investing for Impact," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(3), pages 864-904.
    17. Alijani, Sharam & Karyotis, Catherine, 2019. "Coping with impact investing antagonistic objectives: A multistakeholder approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 10-17.
    18. Tessa Hebb, 2013. "Impact investing and responsible investing: what does it mean?," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 71-74, April.
    19. Alex Nicholls, 2010. "The Institutionalization of Social Investment: The Interplay of Investment Logics and Investor Rationalities," Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 70-100, March.
    20. Viviani, Jean-Laurent & Maurel, Carole, 2019. "Performance of impact investing: A value creation approach," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 31-39.
    21. Davi, Angelique & Haughton, Dominique & Nasr, Nada & Shah, Gaurav & Skaletsky, Maria & Spack, Ruth, 2005. "A Review of Two Text-Mining Packages: SAS TextMining and WordStat," The American Statistician, American Statistical Association, vol. 59, pages 89-103, February.
    22. Möbert, Jochen & Deubener, Harald, 2006. "The Future of Stock Exchanges in Europe," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 36778, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    23. Irene Bengo & Alice Borrello & Veronica Chiodo, 2021. "Preserving the Integrity of Social Impact Investing: Towards a Distinctive Implementation Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, March.
    24. Nees Jan van Eck & Ludo Waltman & Rommert Dekker & Jan van den Berg, 2010. "A comparison of two techniques for bibliometric mapping: Multidimensional scaling and VOS," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(12), pages 2405-2416, December.
    25. Niels Hermes & Theo J.B.M. Postma & Orestis Zivkov, 2006. "Corporate governance codes in the European Union," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 2(4), pages 280-301, October.
    26. 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.
    27. Michael Glos, 2006. "Europe and the new devision of labour: Introduction," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 7(03), pages 13-17, October.
    28. Möbert, Jochen & Deubener, Harald, 2006. "The Future of Stock Exchanges in Europe," Darmstadt Discussion Papers in Economics 162, Darmstadt University of Technology, Department of Law and Economics.
    29. Jeffrey Kappen & Matthew Mitchell & Kavilash Chawla, 2019. "Institutionalizing social impact investing: implications for Islamic finance," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 46(2), pages 226-240, February.
    30. Syrus M. Islam & Asheq Rahman, 2023. "Impact investment deal flow and Sustainable Development Goals: “Mind the gap?”," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 3797-3813, December.
    31. Migliavacca, Milena & Patel, Ritesh & Paltrinieri, Andrea & Goodell, John W., 2022. "Mapping impact investing: A bibliometric analysis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    32. Mingming Li & Marko Milojevic & Dmitry Gura, 2024. "Development of methodology for evaluating sustainable rural development," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 21237-21257, August.
    33. 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.
    34. Jean-Laurent Viviani & Carole Maurel, 2019. "Performance of impact investing: A value creation approach," Post-Print hal-01990525, HAL.
    35. 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.
    36. Syrus M. Islam, 2022. "Impact investing in social sector organisations: a systematic review and research agenda," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 709-737, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Deike Schlütter & Lena Schätzlein & Rüdiger Hahn & Carolin Waldner, 2024. "Missing the Impact in Impact Investing Research – A Systematic Review and Critical Reflection of the Literature," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(6), pages 2694-2718, September.
    2. Syrus M. Islam, 2022. "Impact investing in social sector organisations: a systematic review and research agenda," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 709-737, March.
    3. Nachyła, Pola & Justo, Rachida, 2024. "How do impact investors leverage non-financial strategies to create value? An impact-oriented value framework," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    4. Shome, Samik & Hassan, M. Kabir & Verma, Sushma & Panigrahi, Tushar Ranjan, 2023. "Impact investment for sustainable development: A bibliometric analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 770-800.
    5. Annebeth Roor & Karen Maas, 2024. "Do impact investors live up to their promise? A systematic literature review on (im)proving investments' impacts," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3707-3732, May.
    6. Migliavacca, Milena & Patel, Ritesh & Paltrinieri, Andrea & Goodell, John W., 2022. "Mapping impact investing: A bibliometric analysis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Tongyu Meng & Jamie Newth & Christine Woods, 2022. "Ethical Sensemaking in Impact Investing: Reasons and Motives in the Chinese Renewable Energy Sector," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 1091-1117, September.
    8. Tania Pereira Christopoulos & Pedro Verga Matos & Rafael Drumond Borges, 2024. "An Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation: How the State Integrates Actors for Developing Impact Investing in Portugal," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 7968-7992, June.
    9. Laura Toschi & Elisa Ughetto & Andrea Fronzetti Colladon, 2023. "The identity of social impact venture capitalists: exploring social linguistic positioning and linguistic distinctiveness through text mining," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1249-1280, March.
    10. Bernal, Oscar & Hudon, Marek & Ledru, François-Xavier, 2021. "Are impact and financial returns mutually exclusive? Evidence from publicly-listed impact investments," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 93-112.
    11. Rosella Carè & Stella Carè & Nathalie Lévy & Rabia Fatima, 2023. "Missing finance in social impact bond research? A bibliometric overview between past and future research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2101-2120, September.
    12. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Banerjee, Ameet Kumar & Le, Van & Moussa, Faten, 2024. "Hedging precious metals with impact investing," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 651-664.
    13. Irene Bengo & Alice Borrello & Veronica Chiodo, 2021. "Preserving the Integrity of Social Impact Investing: Towards a Distinctive Implementation Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, March.
    14. Irene Bengo & Leonardo Boni & Alessandro Sancino, 2022. "EU financial regulations and social impact measurement practices: A comprehensive framework on finance for sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 809-819, July.
    15. Bachmann, Kremena & Meyer, Julia & Krauss, Annette, 2024. "Investment motives and performance expectations of impact investors," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    16. Muhammad Nadeem & Ernest Gyapong & Ammad Ahmed, 2020. "Board gender diversity and environmental, social, and economic value creation: Does family ownership matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1268-1284, March.
    17. Islam, Syrus M. & Habib, Ahsan, 2022. "How impact investing firms are responding to sustain and grow social economy enterprises in light of the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 18(C).
    18. 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.
    19. 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).
    20. Syrus M. Islam & Ahsan Habib, 2024. "How impact investing firms use reference frameworks to manage their impact performance: An industry‐level study," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(1), pages 161-184, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:75:y:2025:i:c:s0275531925000224. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ribaf .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.