What's in a name: An analysis of impact investing understandings by academics and practitioners

Abstract

j bus ethics doi 10.1007/s10551-014-2327-0 what’s in a name: an analysis of impact investing understandings by academics and practitioners anna katharina ho¨chsta¨dter • barbara scheck received: 22 april 2014 / accepted: 11 august 2014 (cid:2) springer science+business media dordrecht 2014 abstract recently, there has been much talk of impact investing. around the world, specialized intermediaries have appeared, mainstream financial players and governments have become involved, renowned universities have included impact investing courses in their curriculum, and a myriad of practitioner contributions have been published. this activity, conceptual clarity remains an despite all the interissue: the absence of a uniform definition, changeable use of alternative terms and unclear boundaries to related concepts such as socially responsible investment are being criticized. this article aims to contribute to a better understanding of impact investing, which could help foster this specific investment style and guide further academic research. to do so, it investigates a large number of academic and practitioner works, highlighting areas of similarity and inconsistency on three levels: definitional, terminological, and strategic. our research shows that, on a general level, heterogeneity—especially definitional and strategic—is less pronounced than expected. yet, our research also reveals critical issues that need to be clarified to advance the field and increase its credibility. first and …

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