The aim of this study was to reflect on the origins and meanings of names describing investment practices that integrate a consideration of environmental, social and corporate governance issues in the academic literature. A review of 190 academic papers spanning the period from 1975 to mid-2009 was conducted. This exploratory study evaluated the associations and disassociations of the primary name assigned to this genre of investment with variables grouped into five domains, namely Primary Ethical Position, Investment Strategy, Publication Date, Regions (...) Covered and Periodical Type. The study indicated that papers coded as expressing a deontological ethical position were more frequently associated with the name Ethical Investment , whereas those with an ambiguous ethical position were less frequently associated with Ethical Investment . Three investment strategies (positive screening, best-in-class and cause-based investing) were unusually associated with the primary name Responsible Investment . A strong preference for the name Ethical Investment was noted in the United Kingdom, and contrasted starkly with an apparent aversion for this name in the United States. The name Ethical Investment is significantly more frequently used in journals dealing with ethics, business ethics and philosophy than in finance, economic and investment journals. Finally, the study yielded some weak hints that the name Responsible Investment might perhaps be linked to an egoist ethical position. On the basis of this, and because these have already been substantively linked through the Principles for Responsible Investment in the popular discourse, we follow the heuristic tradition set by Sparkes (Business Ethics Eur Rev 10:194–201, 2001 ), and propose that Responsible Investment be defined as ‘Investment practices that integrate a consideration of ESG issues with the primary purpose of delivering higher-risk-adjusted financial returns’. (shrink)

The purpose of this study was to ascertain South African Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise owners'/managers' perceptions regarding the importance of corporate social responsibility in this sector of the economy. Their views were gauged by means of a questionnaire based on Carroll's CSR hierarchy. Descriptive and inferential statistics, based on 262 questionnaires, show that SMME owners/managers viewed CSR as a very important business practice in South Africa. Given the critical role that SMMEs can play in addressing South Africa's socio-economic needs, (...) it is recommended that more SMME owners/managers be educated as to what CSR entails and how it can be implemented. (shrink)

More South African investors are integrating their personal values into their investment decisions. Research on the performance of socially responsible investment funds, also called ethical funds, yields conflicting results. In this study, the risk adjusted performance of 14 local SRI funds have been evaluated vis-à-vis their respective benchmarks. The results of the Treynor and Sharpe ratios indicate that the majority of funds outperformed their respective benchmarks over the period 1 July 2001 to 31 June 2004 and all but one fund (...) posted positive Alphas. These results thus appear consistent with previous research which shows that ethics indeed pays. (shrink)

Impact investing is the fastest growing responsible investment strategy and has the potential to address many of the environmental and socio-economic challenges faced by humanity. Some scholars, however, claim that definitional ambiguity confounds impact measurement and hence reduces the attractiveness of this investment strategy. To investigate this claim, semi-structured personal interviews were conducted with 13 experienced impact investors in a large African market. Participants did not regard definitional ambiguity as a serious barrier, but found it difficult to identify and articulate (...) specific impact objectives that could match their financial return expectations. Investors called for more training and information sharing platforms. (shrink)