The definition of global impact through the social entrepreneurs representations: a cognitive mapping approach

Abstract: This research focuses on the issue of determining the performance and impact criteria in organizations. It explores the sharing degree of the representations of impact, performance and their determinants in a sample... [ view full abstract ]

Abstract: This research focuses on the issue of determining the performance and impact criteria in organizations. It explores the sharing degree of the representations of impact, performance and their determinants in a sample of five Social and Solidarity Enterprises in Normandy (France) which are accompanied by a third party actor wishing to develop their management tools. We detail a fusion methodology of individual cognitive maps, allowing to quantify collective representations of the research object. The results show that it is pertinent in SSE to conceive modular management tools, where some shared criterias can serve as a common core for monitoring performance and impact, while allowing developing specific criterias for each structure.

Keywords: Social representations, performance, impact, cognitive maps, SSE, management tools.