Performance measurement and impact 

In which ways can we measure and account for the impact, if any, of entrepreneurs and their enterprises?

Social entrepreneurs are driven by their desire to continuously improve their performance, but they need the tools to know how to do so. This research area explores issues of performance measurement, capturing impact, and reporting those impacts. We ask how social entrepreneurs can better account for impact and be accountable to the key stakeholders and beneficiaries they serve.  In turn, we can assess how legitimate their models and methods are for creating sustainable change.

Featured Publication
	"The Legitimacy of Social Entrepreneurship: Reflexive Isomorphism in a Pre-Paradigmatic Field" By Nicholls, A. (2010) in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34.4, pp. 611-633
	"We Do Good Things Don't We?: Blended Value Accounting in Social Entrepreneurship" By Nicholls, A. (2009) in Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34.6-7, pp. 755-769

Other Publications:

Nicholls A. (2010), ‘Institutionalizing Social Entrepreneurship in Regulatory Space: Reporting And Disclosure By Community Interest Companies’, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 35.4, pp. 394-415*

Nicholls A. (2010), ‘The Functions of Measurement in Social Entrepreneurship’, in Hockerts, K., Robinson, J., and Mair, J. (eds), Values and Opportunities in Social Entrepreneurshi, Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 241-272

Nicholls, A. (2010), ‘What Gives Fair Trade It’s Right to Operate? Organizational Legitimacy and Strategic Management’, in Macdonald, K., and Marshall, S., Fair Trade, Corporate Accountability and Beyond: Experiments in Global Justice Governance Mechanisms, Ashgate, pp. 95-121

Nicholls, A. (2008), ‘Capturing the Performance of the Socially Entrepreneurial Organization (SEO): An Organizational Legitimacy Approach’, in Robinson, J., Mair, J., and Hockerts, K. (eds), International Perspectives on Social Entrepreneurship Research, Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 27-74