Conceptualizing the Relation between Private Benefit and the Public Good: The Emerging Contribution of Impact Investment

摘要

The juxtaposition between "private benefit" (i.e. profit maximization) and the "public good" (i.e. social and environmental benefits) has long been treated as an inevitable tension. However, this notion has been increasingly challenged in recent years by a rejection of the binary choice between investing strictly for financial gain or donating to charity. Impact investment is the most recent manifestation of this challenge, directing the private sector's vast innovative and adaptive capabilities towards solving social and environmental problems. This paper addresses (1) whether a theoretical shift has taken place on the relation between private benefit and the public good and (2) whether or not impact investment has contributed to this theoretical shift. It is argued that (1) a theoretical shift has taken place through the emergence and sophistication of five key theoretical perspectives and (2) that impact investment contributes an overarching conceptualization of this shift as the widespread pursuit of a single fundamental element: the creation of social and/or environmental benefits while generating a financial return.