APPROACHES TO ESTIMATION OF SOCIAL DIMENSION IN BUSINESS 

Savina Tat'yana Nikolaevna, Candidate of economic sciences, associate professor, sub-department of economics, Ogarev Mordovia State University (68 Bolshevistskaya street, Saransk, The Republic of Mordovia, Russia), savinatn@yandex.ru

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Background. Due to formation and development of the market economy it is required to understand the social responsibilities of business and the role that is played or should be played by the social responsibilities, social activities of individual entrepreneurs in shaping the social climate in the country and in solving social problems thereof. The purpose of the article is to reveal the economic content of the social investment business; to study methodological aspects of the social dimension of the business.
Materials and methods. Implementation of the research tasks was achieved on the basis of the study of the scientific works by Russian and foreign scholars on the subject. The methodological basis of the study included general scientific methods and techniques (analysis and synthesis, combination of history and logic, etc.), and
specific methods of assessment (monitoring key indicators, expert estimates).
Results. The study shows the growing role of social investment activities in the modern business entity. The author explored the conception of social investment and defined the levels of business participation in the social sphere, the basic approaches to the assessment of social investment. The article shows the evolution of social
investment on certain indices and the suggested criteria evaluation of indicators of social investment.
Conclusions. The study of methodological features of the social dimension of the business allows to conclude about an impending shift in the practice of the social investment towards the local community. This means that business interests are increasingly transferred from the company's staff to the external social environment.

social investment, business, social responsibility, social brand, social impact.

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