Читать книгу: «Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 4 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 4(2023)», страница 18

18. ФАКТОРЫ, ВЛИЯЮЩИЕ НА РЕАЛИЗАЦИЮ ИМПАКТ-ИНВЕСТИРОВАНИЯ: ОЦЕНКА ПОКАЗАТЕЛЕЙ РАЗВИТИЯ СОЦИАЛЬНОЙ СРЕДЫ МАКРОРЕГИОНА

Г. Квон

Статья, ноябрь 2023 г.

«Региональная экономика: теория и практика»

В данной статье анализируется дифференциация регионов Урала с точки зрения инвестиционного потенциала с целью их ранжирования для оптимизации инвестиционной политики. На основе сравнительного анализа различных факторов экономического развития статья делает вывод, что в Уральском макрорегионе лучшие условия для реализации технологий импакт-инвестирования созданы в Свердловской области, а худшие – в Курганской области. В статье предлагается алгоритм оценки инвестиционного потенциала региона, разработанный автором. Предложенный алгоритм оценки инвестиционного потенциала региона может использоваться для проектирования программ экономического развития на среднесрочный период.

https://clck.ru/37Ht9K

Impact Investing as an Object of Research. Digest of Publications for the Second Half of 2023

Elizaveta Zakharova

DOI 10.55140/2782–5817–2023–3–4–112–125

The second half of 2023 witnessed a surge in scholarly interest in impact investing, covering diverse topics from the influence of ESG factors on investment choices and the exploration of social investor behavior through identity theory to the use of big data to assess the social impact of enterprises and the creation of innovative investment instruments. This digest presents a selection of publications that have shaped the discourse in this rapidly evolving field.

Elizaveta Zakharova

PhD student, Department of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics

From July to December 2023, academic papers on impact investing, researchers delved into the significance of policy and international cooperation in addressing environmental and social issues and promoting sustainable economic growth.

Many authors noted a shift in global investor focus from solely financial activities towards effective impact investing. Efforts were made to understand how impact investors decide on capital allocation. New attention was given to the social identity and investment approaches of ‘family investors.’

One article concluded that the most significant aspect of a company’s social impact is not its profits, but the value people place on its products or services. Yet another paper addressed concerns about the ‘overburden’ of impact indicators.

Researchers conducting bibliometric analysis identified promising future research areas for advancing impact investing: ecosystem development, decision-making strategies for investors, stakeholder involvement in projects, attracting institutional players, creating innovative financial tools, standardized accounting and reporting methods, and tackling the problem of impact washing. They also highlighted the unresolved issue of inconsistencies in the interpretation, terminology and concepts of impact investing across disciplines.

Studies show that Impact Investment Funds (IIFs) are a valuable resource for socially oriented organizations seeking funding. For instance, one study found that the IIFs in Australia have a more conservative and profit-focused approach to investing, while Italy prefers more impact-oriented investments. This research also proposed an ‘ideal’ impact investing process tailored to the sector’s specifics.

There is a new development in Big Data processing and machine learning, as these technologies are being applied to predicting companies’ SDG indicators.

Lastly, the book titled “Impact Investing for a Sustainable Planet” was published in the end of 2023, which details the EcoEnterprises Fund’s strategies for investing in expanding industries. The authors aim to assist investors in supporting entrepreneurs in scaling business models that maximize positive impact outcomes and offer practical advice for impact investors.

1. IMPACT INVESTING AND SUSTAINABLE GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS: ENABLING SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES

Tommaso Ferretti

Dissertation, October 2023

AIB Insights

Improving the sustainability of SMEs in developing and emerging economies, which represent the vast majority of the population of MNCs’ supplier networks, is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, SMEs often lack viable financing options to invest in their sustainability. Emergent impact investing seeking social, environmental, and financial returns aims to address this financing gap. How does impact investing influence sustainability in the global value chains of MNCs? Studying the nexus between impact investing and the strategies of SMEs in Latin America’s coffee and forestry sectors, it is provided new insights into how the modes of financing suppliers’ production activities improve GVC sustainability.

https://clck.ru/37Hpdc

2. IMPACT INVESTING FOR A SUSTAINABLE PLANET: INSIGHTS FROM ECOENTERPRISES FUND

Tammy E. Newmark, Michele A. Pena Book, December 2023 Routledge

Impact Investing for a Sustainable Planet guides investors in supporting entrepreneurs to scale business models which maximize positive impact outcomes, including climate- and nature-based solutions. EcoEnterprises Fund is a long-standing leader in the impact investing industry, which helps advance sustainable entrepreneurial ventures and promote environmental stewardship in Latin America.

Following on from their previous book, Portfolio for the Planet, Tammy E. Newmark and Michele A. Pena take stock of EcoEnterprises Fund’s processes and partnerships over two decades and three impact funds. They detail the unique strategies employed by the Fund to invest in expanding sectors such as regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, bio-innovation, and climate tech. Close analysis of the investment processes and company engagements offers practical takeaways, ranging from tips on structuring transactions to guidance on enhancing companies’ environmental and social management systems and community partnerships. These case studies highlight how specific themes – including biodiversity investing, supply chain management, gender-smart investing, climate solutions, and successful exits – form the basis for sustainable growth and enduring powerful outcomes.

This inspiring volume offers practical advice for veterans and newcomers in the field of impact investing. It will also be a valuable resource for students and scholars of sustainable investing and finance, social entrepreneurship, and sustainable business.

https://clck.ru/37Hm6g

3. IMPACT INVESTING IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS

L. Honchar, I. Verezomska, O. Zavadynska, S. Neilenko, N. Sapelnikova, I. Krupa

Paper, October 2023

WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development

This research investigates the intricacies of impact investing in the hospitality industry and its potential implications for fostering corporate responsibility. The study highlights the pivotal role of impact investing policies in promoting regional economic development and environmental betterment. In the face of pressing global environmental challenges, such as climate change and energy resource scarcity, the study underscores the need for effective measures that positively shape state policy formation. The primary goal of such policy initiatives is to bolster human capital development and ensure the long-term realization of strategic objectives. This holds particular significance for nations with substantial potential in the tourism industry, where the hospitality sector acts as a linchpin for tourism recovery and presents compelling opportunities for impactful investments. As energy shortages and dependence took center stage in 2022, the research calls for the exploration of alternative renewable energy sources and the development of new commodity markets to invigorate energy sector growth. Against the backdrop of the hospitality industry’s postpandemic resurgence, the integration of impact investing emerges as vital for both developing and developed nations. Given the prevailing global environmental crisis, the study underscores the imperative of effective international cooperation mechanisms to tackle environmental challenges, positioning impact investing as a catalyst for achieving sustainable economic development goals, advancing eco-friendly practices, and addressing global environmental imperatives.

https://clck.ru/37jM55

4. ENTANGLED VALUE(S): VALUATION AS CRITIQUE IN IMPACT INVESTING

Kaja Kirstine Hegstad Lilleng

Paper, July 2023

Academy of Management Proceedings

Practices where economic value and environmental value entangle are becoming more prevalent. Impact investing is one emerging approach aimed at boosting long term sustainable solutions. This aim, however, is hampered by economized valuation practices in financial investments and the challenge of assessing impact. The author explores how impact investors attribute value in novel ways. This is done through a qualitative study of early-stage private equity impact investors in the Nordic region, drawing on interviews and field observations. She analyses the emerging valuation process by looking at how impact investors select which objects should be paid attention and qualify values through their critique and criticisms. This highlights practices and assumptions the investors challenge and discard of, and attributes they value instead. The findings show how investors criticise simplified measures and shallow understandings of impact and value frames that can encompass complexity and uncertainty, valuing profound and intentional approaches. Overall, the study contributes insights into new and changing modes of valuation in a highly economized setting. By exploring how financial value and environmental value(s) entangle and shape novel forms of valuation researcher advocates for a better understanding of valuation processes that try to look beyond the financial imagination.

https://clck.ru/37HrFC

5. SUSTAINABLE INVESTING WITH ESG – VARIABLES IMPACTING INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR DECISIONS

P. Makhija, E. Chacko, M. Kukreja, S. Agarwal

Paper, October 2023

SDMIMD Journal of Management

Lately, global investors have shifted their focus from pure financial activity to impact investing. In addition to economic reasons, many investors worldwide are interested in corporate efforts addressing global issues such as climate change, work equity, and eradicating poverty. Millennials, according to polls, are more likely to purchase a product from a firm with a favorable environmental and social standing. Investors are seriously contemplating ESG investment opportunities with the notion that companies that adhere to ethical, environmental, social, and regulation practices have access to financial services. ESG investing has increased in India in recent years. However, this could only be the beginning, and more investor understanding of the concept and benefits of ESG investment in emerging markets is required. In light of the above context, the objective of this research was to understand better investors’ opinions regarding ESG activities and how they influence their investment decisions. Our findings confirmed that investors’ attitudes influenced by ESG Perception lead to investment decisions, and ESG activities can help moderate the relationship between ESG activities and investment decisions.

https://clck.ru/37Hq8j

6. AN ECONOMIC VIEW OF CORPORATE SOCIAL IMPACT

H. Allcott, G. Montanari, B. Ozaltun, B. Tan

Paper, October 2023

Social Science Research Network

The growing discussions of impact investing and stakeholder capitalism have increased interest in measuring companies’ social impact, not just their profits. Authors conceptualize corporate social impact as the social welfare loss that would be caused by a firm’s exit in equilibrium. Then they quantify the social impacts of 73 large firms in 12 industries. Researchers field a new survey measuring people’s willingness to substitute away from the firms they buy from and work for. Authors use the survey data to estimate product market and labor market models and simulate counterfactual equilibria after a firm’s exit. A key result is that consumer surplus is the most important component of firms’ social impact, dwarfing profits (because they overwhelmingly accrue to wealthy people with low social marginal welfare weights), worker surplus, and externalities. Existing impact rating systems have little correlation with our economics-based metric.

https://clck.ru/37Hqcb

7. IMPACT FINANCE: HOW SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS ARE ADDRESSED IN TIMES OF FINANCIALIZED CAPITALISM

Eve Chiapello

Paper, July 2023

Review of Evolutionary Political Economy

This article discusses the growth and different guises of impact finance. Impact investing, social impact bonds, blended finance, and venture philanthropy all share the aim of directing private money in search of a financial return towards “impactful” projects or businesses. The association between the concept of social (or environmental) impact and finance was forged in public debate after the 2008 financial crisis, and has enabled the development of a whole ecosystem of actors (evaluators, consultants, asset managers, dedicated associations and forums, training programs, etc.) promising a new kind of finance, capable of producing both financial and social returns. Eve Chiapello argues that despite the growth of this ecosystem, its proposals are unable to meet social and environmental needs and are in fact reinforcing neoliberal financialized capitalism. First, they confer legitimacy on financial actors by giving the impression that with appropriate incentives, such actors are capable of responding to social and environmental issues with no need for major institutional changes.

Second, they contribute to the capture by financial actors of public money earmarked for those issues. The two cases of social impact bonds and impact investing are discussed to illustrate these phenomena and the futility of these practices.

https://clck.ru/37Ht6a

8. HOW IMPACT INVESTING FUNDS INVEST IN SOCIAL-PURPOSE ORGANIZATIONS: A CROSS-COUNTRY COMPARISON

Alice Borrello, Irene Bengo, Michael Moran

Paper, September 2023

Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management

Impact investing funds (IIFs) are a type of investment fund that aims to achieve both financial and social goals, and they have become a valuable resource for social purpose organizations (SPOs) seeking capital. Research evaluates the investment process by comparing approaches in two countries, Italy and Australia. Authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 9 IIFs and 12 SPOs and used the Gioia Methodology to conduct the data analysis. They found both similar features and divergences. The investing process by IIFs in Australia is conservative, more risk averse and more profit-oriented with a predominant “finance-first” strategy. By contrast, in Italy there is a clear preference for “impact-led” investment. Researchers argue this illustrates a fundamental difference in investment philosophy and that IIFs in the two countries navigate, interpret, and understand the field of impact investment in contrasting ways. Finally, study contributes to the growing literature on impact investing by putting forward an “ideal” impact investment process that respects the integrity and peculiarities of the Social Impact Investment approach.

https://clck.ru/37Hquw

9. HARNESSING THE WEB AND KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS FOR AUTOMATED IMPACT INVESTING SCORING

Q. Hu, D. Daza, L. Swinkels, K. Ūsaitė, R. Hoen, P. Groth

Paper, August 2023

Social Science Research Network

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were introduced by the United Nations in order to encourage policies and activities that help guarantee human prosperity and sustainability. SDG frameworks produced in the finance industry are designed to provide scores that indicate how well a company aligns with each of the 17 SDGs. This scoring enables a consistent assessment of investments that have the potential of building an inclusive and sustainable economy. As a result of the high quality and reliability required by such frameworks, the process of creating and maintaining them is time-consuming and requires extensive domain expertise. In this work, authors describe a data-driven system that seeks to automate the process of creating an SDG framework. First, they propose a novel method for collecting and filtering a dataset of texts from different web sources and a knowledge graph relevant to a set of companies. Then they implement and deploy classifiers trained with this data for predicting scores of alignment with SDGs for a given company. Results indicate that best performing model can accurately predict SDG scores with a micro average F1 score of 0.89, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Researchers further describe how the integration of the models for its use by humans can be facilitated by providing explanations in the form of data relevant to a predicted score. They find that their proposed solution enables access to a large amount of information that analysts would normally not be able to process, resulting in an accurate prediction of SDG scores at a fraction of the cost.

https://clck.ru/37Hr2m

10. PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF IMPACT INVESTING AND CLOSELY RELATED FINANCIAL VEHICLES: A LITERATURE REVIEW

H. Chiappini, N. Marinelli, R. Nabeel-Ud-Din Jalal, G. Birindelli

Paper, August 2023

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal

The purpose of this study is to analyze the intersection of research on impact investing and its closely related financial vehicles. The paper explores 196 articles collected from Scopus and Web of Science using bibliometric and content analysis methodologies. Despite a growing academic interest in impact investing, scholars generally investigate impact investing as a social phenomenon, using the specific financial mechanism of social impact bonds. This perspective potentially deflates the complex nature of impact investing, which actually combines both social and financial targets and uses a plurality of financial vehicles to reach its goals. The emerging themes identified will provide both academics and practitioners additional tools to further the debate on impact investing and the understanding of its potential and limits according to the different financial forms it takes. This review should pave the way for a discussion about the boundaries of the social impact sector itself. Despite the strong international commitment toward impact investing, tensions still exist. A comprehensive overview on the relevant aspects not yet thoroughly investigated will foster the growth of impact investments. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first holistic overview of impact investing, that jointly examines both literature on impact investing and literature on the correlated financial products used in the industry. The result is a comprehensive report of what is known about impact investing in its different financial forms, opening up new pathways for future studies.

https://clck.ru/37Hr8R

11. WELCOME TO MY HOUSE! FAMILY IMPACT INVESTORS’ SOCIAL IDENTITY AND APPROACHES TO IMPACT INVESTING

Jeanne Roche, C. Cruz, Braulio Pareja Cano

Paper, August 2023

Academy of Management Proceedings

Impact investors have become a subject of increasing academic interest for their unique capacity to channel financial capital to social impact projects. Identity theories have proved particularly useful in understanding the peculiar behaviors of this new breed of investors. Yet, we know little about how the social identity of impact investors, crucial to comprehend other-oriented behaviors, influences their approach to the field. One type of impact investors, who are also some of the leading players in the sector, is likely to shed light on this question: those born to business-owning families. Based on a grounded theory methodology, authors follow the case of eight family impact investors and find three types of investors with different levels of social identification to their family groups and different corresponding approaches to impact investing in terms of breadth of collaboration and degree of hybridity.

https://clck.ru/37HrLH

12. IMPACT INVESTING: SCIENTOMETRIC REVIEW AND RESEARCH AGENDA

Monica Singhania, Deepika Swami

Paper, September 2023

Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility

Innovations in aligning investment with sustainability led to impact investing, enabling investors to achieve conventional financial returns and measurable social and environmental returns. Since its inception in 2007, it has grown manifolds, with significant efforts being made to create a global ecosystem. However, due to limited academic literature, the theme is yet to garner the scholarly interest it deserves. In this study, authors analyse and visualise a knowledge map of the impact investment research field through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis by employing a research corpus of 421 studies sourced from Web of Science and Scopus. They identify the growth trajectory, geographical concentration, productive and influential authors, journals and significant articles and examine the inter-disciplinarity of the field. The major research themes interlinked with impact investing included; social entrepreneurship, social innovation, social finance, impact investment market, innovative financial instruments, financialisation of essential services and impact reporting. To drive the field forward, future research needs to develop an impact investment ecosystem, address behavioural issues, stakeholder management and institutional context in impact investment theme, develop and diffuse innovative financial instruments, develop a framework for standardised accounting and reporting practices to measure financial and non-financial dimensions, tackle impact washing by fund managers, address lack of financial access to the third sector and develop the legal and regulatory framework for third sector organisations.

https://clck.ru/37HqmC

13. FINANCING ECUADORIAN SOCIAL ENTERPRISES: WHAT IS THE ROLE OF IMPACT INVESTMENT?

E. Bacuilima, J. Morocho, J. Aguirre, K. Coronel-Pangol, P. Mora

Paper, July 2023

Sustainability

Social entrepreneurship is a topic of great development at the research level, which aims to discover, exploit and define the possibilities of increasing social wealth through activities and processes carried out with the creation and management of an innovative enterprise. From this, it has been identified that one of the main problems of social entrepreneurs in underdeveloped countries is the lack of financing, where new forms of financing have not been consolidated, as is the case with impact investment. Therefore, the objective of this research is to determine the role of impact investment in each of the Ecuadorian social enterprises under study. To this end, a qualitative research methodology of an interpretive nature was adopted through in-depth interviews with social entrepreneurs for the construction of results by means of summary tables and descriptive and graphic taxonomy. The results show that for most of the social enterprises studied, the role of impact investment is null, without this implying a lack of knowledge on the part of the social enterprises. Finally, it is necessary that policymakers take into account the need to promote sustainable development by improving social inclusion to support projects and enterprises that generate employment and opportunities for marginalized and vulnerable groups, promoting policies and measures that encourage this type of investment to generate a positive impact on the country.

https://clck.ru/37HswX

14. NEW BOTTLE OR NEW LABEL? DISTINGUISHING IMPACT INVESTING FROM RESPONSIBLE AND ETHICAL INVESTING

T. Dordi, P. Stephens, S. Geobey, O. Weber

Paper, July 2023

Accounting & Finance

A common topic of debate in academic scholarship on impact, ethical, and responsible investing is definitional clarity around the motivations and applications of each form of investment strategy. Authors ask, how does the subfield of impact investing differentiate itself from more established ethical and responsible investing – and do these differences necessitate yet another field of study? Adopting a combination of bibliometric and content analyses, they identify four distinct features of impact investing – positive impact targeting, novelty of governance structures, long time horizons, and the importance of philanthropy.

https://clck.ru/37HrV2

15. BROKERING FOR A BETTER WORLD: THE FAMILY OFFICE’S ROLE IN IMPACT INVESTING

Vivian Krohn

Paper, August 2023

Academy of Management Proceedings

The study identifies that multi family offices must handle different values and perspectives of their heterogeneous clients. Regarding impact investing decision-making, multi family offices cope with competing institutional logics. The study finds that multi family offices take over the role of a logics broker and either identify with brokering for transformation to a hybrid logic or with brokering for resistance of logics. As institutional complexity rises, the study contributes to research on hybrid practices of competing institutional logics and highlights the relevance of aligned values. The findings further contribute to research on institutional entrepreneurship and the role of intermediaries at the intersection of individual-level and organizational-level responses to competing institutional logics.

https://clck.ru/37HskB

16. MISSING THE IMPACT IN IMPACT INVESTING RESEARCH – A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND CRITICAL REFLECTION OF THE LITERATURE

D. Schlütter, L. Schätzlein, R. Hahn, C. J. Waldner

Paper, July 2023

Journal of Management Studies

Impact investing (II) aims to achieve intentional social impact in addition to financial return. Systematic literature review of 104 articles finds that the growing academic literature on II is scattered across a variety of disciplines and topics, with inconsistencies in terminology and concepts and a paucity of theoretical explanations and frameworks. To provide an overview of common research areas and findings, authors integrate the articles on II in nine emerging topics and shed light on inconsistencies in the literature. The analysis reveals one major shortcoming in II research: Despite the fact that II aims to create a measurable societal impact, this impact of II, its raison d’être, is not scrutinized in the literature.

Researchers argue that investigating the impact of II requires a holistic lens, for which they propose systems theory. Also they suggest prospective future research avenues which combine socioeconomic research approaches (esp. longitudinal qualitative studies and experimental methods) with socio-technical methods (esp. life cycle analysis) to enable a holistic systems perspective of II.

https://clck.ru/37HszX

17. TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING? DRAWBACKS OF STRESSING MEASUREMENT OF IMPACT INVESTING

J. Celse, G. Davies, G. Grolleau

Paper, July 2023

The Journal of Alternative Investments

The current emphasis on impact measurement raises several challenges, including ethical ones. Rather than taking for granted that more and better measurements are crucial to the development of impact investing, the authors of this article question what drives this measurement mania and expose some related pitfalls. They also develop some practical and original ways to help the impact investing movement avoid some measurement-related traps, such as making numbers less salient and combining them with more qualitative elements, reducing the likelihood of metric overload, inviting investors to adopt the perspective of a beneficiary, or introducing random procedures (sortition) to give a voice to neglected stakeholders.

https://clck.ru/37Hsrs

18. FACTORS FOR THE IMPACT INVESTING IMPLEMENTATION: ASSESSING THE MACROREGION’S SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS

G. Kvon

Paper, November 2023

Regional Economics: Theory and Practice

This article analyzes the differentiation of the Ural regions in terms of investment potential and aims to rank the Ural regions to optimize the investment policy. Based on the comparative analysis of various factors of economic development, the article finds that in the Ural macroregion, the best conditions for the implementation of impact investing technologies have developed in the Sverdlovsk Oblast, and the worst ones appear to be in the Kurgan Oblast. The article offers the author-developed algorithm for assessing the investment potential of the region. The proposed algorithm for assessing the investment potential of the region can be used to design economic development programmes for the medium term.

https://clck.ru/37Ht9K