IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhb/gunwba/2026_423.html

The Governance paradox in Work Integration Social Enterprises: On the folly of measuring output while hoping for impact

Author

Listed:
  • Waweru, Nyambura

  • Gillberg, Nanna

    (Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Norbäck, Maria

    (Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

Abstract

This paper examines how social impact measurement in Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) functions as a mechanism of public value governance within the Swedish wel fare state. Drawing on Public Value Theory and public governance scholarship, it reconceptualises impact measurement as a governance practice through which public value is defined and prioritised. Based on analysis of Swedish policy frameworks, procurement requirements, reporting systems, and co-creation material from the Women4Integration project, the study shows that Swedish WISEs operate in conditions of measurement abundance rather than scarcity. Overlapping evaluation regimes tied to labour-market policies, procurement, and project fundingproduce fragmented, audience-specific accounts of impact that prioritise short-term employment outcomes over long-term capability development and social integration. The paper argues that fragmented governance, rather than methodological insufficiency, underlies current measurement challenges.

Suggested Citation

  • Waweru, Nyambura & Gillberg, Nanna & Norbäck, Maria, 2026. "The Governance paradox in Work Integration Social Enterprises: On the folly of measuring output while hoping for impact," FE rapport 2026-423, University of Gothenburg, Department of Business Administration.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhb:gunwba:2026_423
    DOI: https://hdl.handle.net/2077/93064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hdl.handle.net/2077/93064
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/https://hdl.handle.net/2077/93064?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
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:hhb:gunwba:2026_423. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Maria Persson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/hhsguse.html .

    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.