Social impact measurement in hybrid social enterprises

Abstract

The ethereal nature of social impact measurement makes it a very challenging but also fascinating area of research. The lack of agreement and coherence around what can and should be measured, not to mention how it should be measured, presents both a theoretical and practical quandary to hybrid organisations such as social enterprises. The objective of this research was to develop an understanding of how hybrid organisations measure social impact and in so doing, work towards the development of a generic metric that can be used to compare social impact across different hybrid organisations. A qualitative approach was used given the exploratory nature of the research and the lack of empirical data related to the topic of social impact measurement. Interviews were conducted across a sample of twelve different hybrid social enterprises. This study found that there is a lack of cohesion around a standardised methodology for social impact measurement, and particularly comparative measurement. This is primarily driven by the subjective and contextual nature of social impact and the environments in which it is measured, coupled with the myriad of agendas, expectations and needs of the broader stakeholders groups on which social enterprises rely. The proliferation of views and perspectives effectively clouds the issue of social impact assessment and draws attention away from arguably the most important stakeholders of all, the targeted beneficiaries. This research encourages a shift in focus, to view and assess social impact through the lens of the beneficiary and in so doing, develop a measure that will be comparable across different interventions and contexts.