A bibliometric analysis of social innovation impact assessment strategies

Social impact assessment is one of the most important challenges for scholars in the field of social innovation. The main challenge encountered is the measurement and conversion of qualitative data related to the achievement of a social mission into quantitative metrics. In this regard, existing studies in the field underline the main reason why organisations should move beyond the traditional belief that their economic value is not linked and in opposition to their social value. In the present paper, a bibliometric analysis was conducted, using VOSviewer software, to map research trends on social innovation impacts and metrics based on articles indexed in Web of Science (WoS), Scopus and Science Direct databases, published between 2012 and 2022. The analysis of these maps is presented, providing an overview of the research community in social innovation and social impact measurement models, and offering interesting and useful perspectives on the development of the topic and the current state of research in this field.