Impact Investing in Social Sector Organisations: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Abstract

Impact investing has great potential to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by financing the growth of social sector organisations. This paper conducts a systematic literature review to develop cumulative insights into impact investing in social sector organisations. It identifies four streams of impact investing research: impact investment decision making, impact evaluation in impact investing, behavioural issues in impact investing, and impact investing ecosystem. This paper also identifies nine main research focus areas within these research streams and discusses key insights into each of them. Finally, building on prior research, this article offers a comprehensive future research agenda.