The article employs regression models on the data of the Education Economy Monitoring in order to study factors infl uencing the propensity of university teachers to engage in research. As independent variables, the authors take both personal characteristics of teachers and institutional factors, like management policies, contract completeness, and characteristics of research environment at the university. It is shown that participation in research cannot be considered solely as a source of extra income: the research is largely an investment in human and social capital (reputation). The benefi ts from these investments can be obtained in other spheres, including those producing profi t, like teaching and consulting. It is discovered that in Russian universities, it is the favorable academic environment rather than the type of contract or the management policies that more aff ect research achievements of teachers.