Impact Investing – A Literature Review on the Effectiveness of Investor Impact Mechanisms

The paper “Impact Investing – A Literature Review on the Effectiveness of Investor Impact Mechanisms” was developed in collaboration between the Sustainable Finance Research Group at the University of Hamburg represented by Prof. Timo Busch, Advanced Impact Research (AIR) and F.I.R.S.T e.V.

It explores the potential of different investor mechanisms to generate company-level impact and provides a systematic basis for evaluating their effectiveness. Drawing on existing literature and applying the concept of investor impact potential as an analytical tool, the paper assesses stewardship, capital allocation, and field building for their effectiveness, outlining the potential for each mechanism depending on whether their deployment is direct or indirect. It contributes to existing research by collecting, integrating, and evaluating investor mechanisms based on their investor impact potential.

Read the full paper here.