In the last decade, the impact investing phenomenon has started to gain momentum for its unique and innovative features. In fact, for a long period of time, the traditional way of doing business has been considered as capable of allocating capital in an efficient way. However, starting from the financial crisis of 2008, questions started to emerge about whether the financial markets were working perfectly. For this reason, this new way of doing finance, characterised by the intention of generating a positive impact on the society and on the environment, turns out to be a potential solution to this disillusionment. Notwithstanding, the current literature has not managed yet to address the phenomenon properly. From the literature, it is clear how it has been contaminated by practices coming from both venture capital and philanthropy, defining what is called social venture capital. In this way, a clear overview of the investment process peculiarities is not offered. Indeed, the thesis purpose is to understand what the peculiar characteristics of the investment process between impact investors and their investees are. Through the analysis of the existing literature, it has been possible to get a clear idea of the dynamics guiding philanthropy, venture capital and social venture capital, identifying the main gaps. Starting from this, the research question has been broken up into 5 hypotheses, that were tested and verified through the use of 35 semi-structured interviews addressed to both demand-side and supply-side actors of the impact investing ecosystem operating in Italy. These interviews were examined through a qualitative directed content analysis method, and it was possible to arrive at a clear understanding of the main strengths and weaknesses of the investment process. This finding led to some concerns and recommendations concerning what should be retained and changed by both impact investors and investees to create enhanced relationships.
Nell’ultimo decennio, il fenomeno dell’impact investing ha cominciato a guadagnare rilevanza grazie alle sue caratteristiche innovative. Infatti, per molto tempo si è pensato che il modo tradizionale di fare impresa fosse in grado di distribuire il capitale in maniera efficiente. Tuttavia, a partire dalla crisi economica del 2008, sono cominciati ad emergere dei dubbi sul perfetto funzionamento dei mercati finanziari. Per questo motivo, questo nuovo modo di concepire la finanza, caratterizzato dall'intento di generare un impatto positivo sulla società e sull'ambiente, risulta essere una potenziale soluzione al clima di sfiducia venutosi a creare. Nonostante ciò, la letteratura attuale non è ancora riuscita ad affrontare il fenomeno in modo adeguato. Dallo studio della letteratura è chiaro come questo sia stato contaminato da pratiche provenienti sia dal venture capital che dalla filantropia, definendo quello che viene chiamato venture capital sociale. Pertanto, non viene fornita una chiara descrizione delle peculiarità caratterizzanti il processo d’investimento. Infatti, l'obiettivo di questa tesi è quello di capire quali sono le caratteristiche peculiari del processo d’investimento tra gli investitori ad impatto e le imprese da loro investite. Attraverso la revisione della letteratura è stato possibile farsi un'idea chiara delle dinamiche che guidano la filantropia, il venture capital e il venture capital sociale, individuandone le principali lacune. Da qui, la domanda di ricerca è stata scomposta in 5 ipotesi, che sono state testate e verificate attraverso l'utilizzo di 35 interviste semi-strutturate rivolte ad operatori sia del lato offerta sia del lato domanda dell’ecosistema degli investimenti a impatto operanti in Italia. Tali interviste sono state esaminate attraverso un'analisi qualitativa diretta dei contenuti, ed è stato possibile giungere ad una chiara comprensione dei principali punti di forza e debolezza del processo d’investimento. Tramite i risultati raccolti, sono sorte una serie di considerazioni e raccomandazioni riguardanti gli aspetti che dovrebbero essere preservati o modificati sia da parte degli investiti sia da parte degli investitori con l’obiettivo di creare relazioni migliori.
Social venture capital : a double perspective on the features of investment process
Palmiotti, Mariadonata;Pinelli, Maria
2019/2020
Abstract
In the last decade, the impact investing phenomenon has started to gain momentum for its unique and innovative features. In fact, for a long period of time, the traditional way of doing business has been considered as capable of allocating capital in an efficient way. However, starting from the financial crisis of 2008, questions started to emerge about whether the financial markets were working perfectly. For this reason, this new way of doing finance, characterised by the intention of generating a positive impact on the society and on the environment, turns out to be a potential solution to this disillusionment. Notwithstanding, the current literature has not managed yet to address the phenomenon properly. From the literature, it is clear how it has been contaminated by practices coming from both venture capital and philanthropy, defining what is called social venture capital. In this way, a clear overview of the investment process peculiarities is not offered. Indeed, the thesis purpose is to understand what the peculiar characteristics of the investment process between impact investors and their investees are. Through the analysis of the existing literature, it has been possible to get a clear idea of the dynamics guiding philanthropy, venture capital and social venture capital, identifying the main gaps. Starting from this, the research question has been broken up into 5 hypotheses, that were tested and verified through the use of 35 semi-structured interviews addressed to both demand-side and supply-side actors of the impact investing ecosystem operating in Italy. These interviews were examined through a qualitative directed content analysis method, and it was possible to arrive at a clear understanding of the main strengths and weaknesses of the investment process. This finding led to some concerns and recommendations concerning what should be retained and changed by both impact investors and investees to create enhanced relationships.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2020_07_Palmiotti_Pinelli.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/167226