TY - JOUR

T1 - Defining and Conceptualizing Impact Investing

T2 - Attractive Nuisance or Catalyst?

AU - Hockerts, Kai

AU - Hehenberger, Lisa

AU - Schaltegger, Stefan

AU - Farber, Vanina

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. Part of a collection: Special Issue - Impact Investing - Critical Examinations of Motivations, Processes and Results

PY - 2022/9/1

Y1 - 2022/9/1

N2 - This introduction to the special issue on impact investing applies the attractive nuisance notion to impact investing. Social sector actors ‘trespassing’ on the playing field of conventional investment markets may not appreciate the risks. We apply the framework of essentially contested concepts to foster fruitful diverse research in this emerging research field. We advance six dimensions (intentionality, additionality, contribution, materiality, measurability and attribution), which we propose allow to describe different sub-clusters of how the term is used in research and practice. For each dimension we identify risks and opportunities stemming from the contested nature and highlight an ambitious research agenda for how future business ethics scholars can help address and foster impact investing. We conclude by illustrating how the papers in this special issue address these challenges.

AB - This introduction to the special issue on impact investing applies the attractive nuisance notion to impact investing. Social sector actors ‘trespassing’ on the playing field of conventional investment markets may not appreciate the risks. We apply the framework of essentially contested concepts to foster fruitful diverse research in this emerging research field. We advance six dimensions (intentionality, additionality, contribution, materiality, measurability and attribution), which we propose allow to describe different sub-clusters of how the term is used in research and practice. For each dimension we identify risks and opportunities stemming from the contested nature and highlight an ambitious research agenda for how future business ethics scholars can help address and foster impact investing. We conclude by illustrating how the papers in this special issue address these challenges.

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

KW - Impact investing

KW - measurement

KW - Intentionality

KW - Impact investing

KW - Intentionality

KW - Measurement

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85134995106&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/a73f7458-61b6-32b7-a224-e47f1bf0e6fd/

U2 - 10.1007/s10551-022-05157-3

DO - 10.1007/s10551-022-05157-3

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 179

SP - 937

EP - 950

JO - Journal of Business Ethics

JF - Journal of Business Ethics

SN - 0167-4544

IS - 4

ER -