Social Impact: Review and Measurement of Such Development

Valid impact measurement is crucial for investors to ensure that their funds are going to suitable projects and track the project performance. However, to the best of our knowledge, a standard, reliable, and valid social impact measurement is not available yet. Extant impact measurements tend to be unidimensional and single-level, overlooking the multi-level effects or multi-dimensionality. To advance the practice and theory of social impact, a common definition and a valid measurement are essential. The objectives of this paper are thus threefold. First, based on a literature review, we draw a comprehensive definition of social impact that comprises knowledge of prior studies and allows researchers in the field to follow. Second, we conduct a systematic review on papers about social impacts to understand the extant ground of this field and identify four characteristics for social impacts, namely multi-dimensional, multi-level, dynamic, and not static in form. Lastly, we propose a conceptual model for the social impact measurement and delineate each construct in the model.