This line of research aims at understanding the extent to which the context finance intersects with the generation of social impact. More specifically, the actors characterizing the finance field (asset management firms, investment firms, investment funds) are getting increasingly interested to find operational models granting social returns besides financial returns.

From a theoretical standpoint, we frame in the hybridity and blended value conceptualization our reasonings. In management literature, hybrid models reflect organizational settings in which conflicting logics coexist in the same entities to ensure the generation of values blending social and economic aspects. We thus investigate how investors deal between conflicting logics’ mechanisms, shifting from pure impact investing approaches to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles, to assess the alignment between investors aspirations and the portfolios of investments.

From a policy perspective, the finance context has been increasingly part of an overarching regulatory framework defining a novel institutional dynamic in which sustainable development plays a pivotal role. Especially in the European Union, the effort to fight greenwashing and substantial sustainability objectives is taking a top-down approach, determining profound changes for the ground of competitions. For these reasons, the role of social impact measurement is opening novel research opportunities to rethink the balance of interests among the actors involved in a multiple set of objectives.

From a methodological standpoint, we engage research activities adopting multiple typologies of approaches. We adopt positional, conceptual works that aim to set the strategical pathways in an evolving institutional environment. Moreover, we consider works on quantitative stances, using datasets such as Morningstar Direct, to capture the big picture of the impact finance fields and grant the generalization of our inquiries, as well as in-field experimental approaches with investment funds we are working with.