Social Impact and Its Challenges in Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation – A Case Study of Social Impact in Sweden

Social impact in social entrepreneurship and social innovation is a significant common denominator in these fields which received increasing attention recently. The attention is concentrated to measurement methods but the concept social impact is still “fuzzy”. This thesis contributes with clarification of social impact. The study is a case study of social impact where an abductive qualitative approach is used. It aims to identify and explore the understanding of measuring social impact, why it is important, and what the challenges are with social impact in social entrepreneurship and social innovation in Sweden. Interviews were conducted with participants from central national authorities and organizations in Sweden to analyze the case. The outcomes are: it is important to prove and measure social impact to, show that the social initiative fulfills the social mission and have effects in a positive direction, for the public sector to prioritize the initiative and procure social impact, and to solve the social challenges properly. Challenges with social impact are that some people are shy to show social impact, social problems are complex to measure, it is difficult to separate results and impact, there is a drain- pipe problem in the society, and there are challenges with procuring social impact. The thesis contributes to an explicit understanding of social impact which can facilitate the knowledge diffusion and the development of the area.