Investissement d'impact - Impact investing
Channel: ObservatoirePhilanthropie
Date: 2023-02-05

Hybrid practices combine core elements of different institutional logics. As such, they elicit
contrasting responses from individuals, including ignoring, rejecting, and adopting them. Yet,
extant research in institutional theory does not explain how individuals come to form these
responses. To address this gap, we adopt a sensemaking perspective and conduct an inductive,
comparative case study of 14 high-net-worth individuals based on life story interviews,
examining their responses to impact investing, an emergent hybrid practice combining elements
of the philanthropy and finance logics. Our study uncovers key contextual mechanisms by which
institutions influence how individuals respond to hybrid practices, a neglected dimension in
sensemaking studies. In particular, we show how individuals’ degree of adherence to the logics
involved shapes how they notice, interpret, and finally respond to impact investing. Contrary to
what previous research suggests, our study shows that individuals who are merely familiar with
the logics at play are better positioned than both novices and individuals who identify with the
logics to evaluate hybrid practices positively and adopt them.