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Smelova A.A., Aleksandrova A.A. Socially responsible investment policy of the corporate pension funds: the experience of empirical research

Abstract: This article examines the investment policy of the corporate pension funds, which have emerged for the purpose of ensuring the employees of corporation alongside the ordinary citizens with the additional income as they reach the pension qualification age. The author determines the two main strategies used by corporate pension funds in the financial market: a financial strategy aimed at profit maximization; and a socially responsible strategy that suggests not only investments into the social projects, but also integration with the investors, consideration of their values and interests. As the main theoretical-methodological approach, the author chose the sociology of conventions; in March-April of 2016 he conducted an original empirical research in one of the northwestern branches of “Gazprom”. The subject of this study consisted in the question, whether or not the values of the corporation employees reflect the directions of the investment policy conducted by the Non-Governmental Pension Fund “Gazfond”. The acquired data reveals the attitude of the corporation employees, who are the real or potential investors into the work of the corporate pension fund. An essential part of the research became the examination of the spheres of social life that require the most investments. It is underlined that the institution of expertise of the investment projects within the corporate pension funds is in need of modernization. The author also defines the main criteria, which according to the employees’ opinion, should be considered by the management in selection of the socially responsible investment projects.


Keywords:

sociological research, transnational corporation, investment policy, theory of conventions, employees’ values, socially responsible strategy, financial strategy, investment of retirement savings, corporate pension fund, economic sociology


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