Social impact taxonomy: A definitional framework

IF 3.4 3区管理学 Q2 BUSINESS

Public Relations Review Pub Date : 2025-05-28 DOI:10.1016/j.pubrev.2025.102592

Bree Hurst, Kim A. Johnston

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The ways in which social impact is conceptualized, assessed, and communicated are essential to supporting communities and fostering a civil society. However, despite the frequent use of the term ‘social impact’ in academia and practice, its definition remains ambiguous. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to help both scholars and practitioners be clearer on their conceptualization of social impact. To do this, this study conducted a bounded systematic literature review of 701 papers, identifying 135 papers that provided 185 definitions of social impact. Thematic analysis led to the empirical development of a taxonomy for social impact. Theoretically, this study identifies the key attributes of social impact definitions and proposes a definitional framework and taxonomy for clearer articulation of social impact across various contexts. The study provides an empirical starting point for organizations, and in particular, public relations - given it operates at the intersection of organizational activities and their social implications - to be clear on what is meant by social impact, which in turn, should aid in engaging around, measuring, and communicating about their social impact.

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社会影响分类学：一个定义框架

对社会影响进行概念化、评估和传达的方式对于支持社区和培育文明社会至关重要。然而，尽管在学术界和实践中经常使用“社会影响”一词，但其定义仍然模糊不清。因此，本文的目的是帮助学者和实践者更清楚地了解他们对社会影响的概念。为此，本研究对701篇论文进行了有限的系统文献综述，确定了135篇论文，提供了185个社会影响的定义。专题分析导致了社会影响分类学的实证发展。从理论上讲，本研究确定了社会影响定义的关键属性，并提出了一个定义框架和分类，以便更清晰地阐明不同背景下的社会影响。该研究为组织提供了一个经验起点，特别是公共关系-鉴于它在组织活动及其社会影响的交叉点上运作-明确社会影响的含义，这反过来应该有助于参与，衡量和沟通他们的社会影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Public Relations Review Multiple-

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

19.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Public Relations Review is the oldest journal devoted to articles that examine public relations in depth, and commentaries by specialists in the field. Most of the articles are based on empirical research undertaken by professionals and academics in the field. In addition to research articles and commentaries, The Review publishes invited research in brief, and book reviews in the fields of public relations, mass communications, organizational communications, public opinion formations, social science research and evaluation, marketing, management and public policy formation.