Key research themes
1. How do social finance and impact investing approaches influence the realization and evaluation of responsible innovation and social impact?
This research area explores the role of social finance (SF) and impact investing in supporting and scaling responsible innovation (RI) and social sector organizations. It is crucial for understanding how capital can be mobilized not merely for financial returns but for social and environmental impact, and how such impact is evaluated and valued. Addressing funding barriers, investor selection criteria, and impact measurement frameworks, this body of work investigates the alignment of entrepreneurial activities with social missions, the principles that guide investment decisions, and methods to quantify social returns, which are pivotal for expanding the efficacy and legitimacy of social investments.
2. What are the political and institutional factors driving the variation in adoption and expansion of social investment policies across democracies?
This theme concentrates on the comparative political economy underpinning differences in social investment agendas and reforms across countries. It addresses how institutional legacies, political coalitions, actor interests, and governance structures influence the design, timing, and extent of social investment policies. The insights assist academics in understanding why seemingly similar societal challenges produce heterogeneous policy responses, enabling the evaluation of mechanisms that facilitate or impede social investment reforms globally.
3. How do social entrepreneurship, social innovation, and social enterprise concepts interrelate, and what is the role of the 'social' in shaping these phenomena?
This research theme investigates the conceptual and operational boundaries and interconnections between social entrepreneurship, social innovation, and social enterprise. It examines how the 'social' dimension constitutes the core of these fields, influencing organizational models, strategies, and outcomes aimed at generating social value. Understanding this nexus is significant for scholars developing coherent theoretical frameworks and for practitioners designing mission-driven organizations that address grand societal challenges through innovative and sustainable approaches.