Consumers' reaction to fair trade motivated price increases

Consumer perception of price increases and their reactions are a topic of great relevance for marketing research and practice. We investigate consumers' acceptance of price increases justified by higher costs due to company's corporate socially responsible activities by conducting two experimental studies. In the first study we examine perceived fairness and intentions following a price increase justified by a fair trade commitment. To assess the green attitude–behavior gap in consumer behavior our second study incorporates a real world experiment to explore actual consumer behavior against stated intentions. Our investigation adds nuance to our understanding of the effects of corporate social responsibility on consumer response to price increases. Our results reveal that a price increase due to a fair trade commitment is perceived as fair and does not have a negative impact on purchase behavior. We contrast our findings with a price increase due to higher taxes and due to profit increase. Our results demonstrate that fair trade justified price increases can skim twice the amount compared to tax justified increases. Furthermore, consumers' actual buying behavior reveals no difference to their stated intentions. Hence, prior research proclaiming an attitude–behavior gap in the context of consumers' socially responsible buying behavior has to be called into question.     

Pricing,greening, and transparency decisions considering the impact of government subsidies and CSR behavior in supply chain decisions

In this paper, we analytically model different government subsidy strategies in a supply chain manufacturing and selling a green product. We model the interaction between greening degree and transparency level set by a manufacturer and its impact on not only the supply chain, but also consumers and the government. The supply chain is composed of a manufacturer and a retailer. The manufacturer can choose two different strategies. First, he only cares about his production profit; and second, he concerns with CSR in addition to his production profit. We develop a new transparency-based index of consumer satisfaction to model how the market reacts to manufacturer CSR decisions. The government decide three different subsidy strategies. A three-stage Stackelberg game model is developed and solved to analytically derive managerial insights. As a result, if the transparency cost coefficient is sufficiently high, the greening degree and transparency level in CSR concerns strategy are higher than when the manufacturer is not concerned with corporate social responsibility. In addition, when the transparency cost coefficient is sufficiently high, the profit of supply chain members and government are equal in both strategies. We give a real-world example of Iranian brick industry.     

Consumer Reactions to Corporate Tax Strategies: Effects on Corporate Reputation and Purchasing Behavior

On the basis of an interdisciplinary approach linking taxation, marketing, and corporate social responsibility, the present research investigates the effects of media reports on aggressive and responsible corporate tax strategies (CTSs) on corporate success with consumers. By means of two laboratory experiments (N = 150, 360), we analyze the effects of the CTSs on corporate reputation, consumer purchase intention, and the consumer’s willingness to pay. Our results suggest that aggressive CTSs diminish corporate success with consumers, whereas responsible CTSs enhance it. Nevertheless, consumers are not willing to pay a price premium for products sold by responsible tax-planning companies, but rather punish aggressive tax-planning companies through a slightly lower willingness to pay. Finally, consumers’ tax morale and their attitude toward tax avoidance are important moderating variables. Given the growing level of media interest in taxation, our findings are crucial for assessing consumer-related non-tax costs and the benefits of different CTSs.     

Do taxes influence the organizational boundaries of international firms? An incomplete-contracting model with empirical evidence

Firms that import intermediate goods choose between outsourcing and vertical integration. When corporate tax rates differ between the home country and the foreign country, the possibility of shifting income and reducing overall tax payments through transfer pricing makes integration more attractive than outsourcing. This paper develops an incomplete-contracting model in which an international firm facing tax rate differentials chooses whether or not to internalize intermediate transactions in order to trade off production efficiency and tax minimization. By shifting economic activities across borders, an integrated multinational enterprise establishes a proper transfer price and reaches the optimal profit-splitting arrangement that maximizes its total after-tax profit. This paper finds that cross-country differences in corporate tax rates and product intangibility play important roles in affecting firms’ internalization decision. Empirical analysis employing the US data also supports the theoretical findings. The positive correlation of the integration level of US firms and tax rate differentials between the US and foreign countries remains in the sample excluding tax havens.     

现代城市营销策略探析:以福建泉州为例

城市营销是形成城市竞争优势的重要途径,针对泉州内外环境所形成的优势、劣势、机遇、威胁,目前泉州市存在民营企业外迁,总部外迁、资金外流、税收外流,县域品牌和企业品牌高于城市品牌等问题。为此,应选择科学合理的城市营销策略,凸现城市特色,彰显城市竞争优势,为经济社会发展注入活力,达到全面提高泉州市竞争力的发展目的。     

Determinants of Consumers’ Purchase Intentions of Organic Vegetables: Some Insights from Malaysia

This study tests the mediating effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR), product image, and corporate reputation on the relationships between green marketing awareness and consumers’ purchase intentions of organic vegetables. Data from 200 valid questionnaires was analyzed utilizing a partial least squares approach. Results show that product image was confirmed as the leading factor that partially mediated the influence of consumer green marketing awareness on consumers’ purchase intentions of organic vegetables, and this was followed by CSR, but that corporate reputation was not established as a mediator. Marketing managers should, therefore, develop various effective strategies to communicate their companies’ product image, embracing green marketing practices in order to increase market awareness, and providing positive recommendations to friends and relatives via various marketing communication channel including the short message service (SMS), emails, and social networking sites (SNS).     

Competitiveness of Firm Behavior and Public Policy for New Technology Adoption in an Oligopoly

Economic growth requires that firms adopt new technologies. However, it may be insufficient or excessive in less competitive industries from the social welfare point of view. In this case, a government subsidy or tax is necessary. We analyze the optimum subsidy or tax policy for new technology adoption by firms when firms maximize the weighted average of absolute and relative profits. We do not consider that firms really maximize the weighted average, but the weight on the relative profit is used as a parameter indicating competitiveness of firm behavior. We show that the optimum policy is likely to be subsidization (or taxation) when the set-up cost for new technology adoption is large (or small). It is likely to be subsidization (or taxation) when competitiveness is large (or small), that is, it is near to perfect competition (or joint profit maximization).     

Can Mergers to Monopoly,Price Fixing,and Market‐Division Agreements Raise Welfare?

Naked market division, price fixing agreements and mergers which result in dominant positions have long been opposed by the courts and the government because of the high likelihood that they will result in a reduction in output and an increase in price. We show that the opposite may be true if the market is characterized by marketing spillovers. When marketing investment is required to educate consumers about the general capabilities or qualities of a product, marketing efforts by one producer will benefit rival producers. A theoretical model of these types of markets shows that marketing spillovers can forestall entry altogether or force incumbent firms to engage in ‘limit marketing’ that leaves the market underserved from a welfare‐maximizing perspective. Under these circumstances, market output and social welfare are potentially raised not only through horizontal agreements among competitors, but also through cost‐raising strategies and commitments to predatory behavior by incumbent firms.     

Local green finance policies and corporate ESG performance

Based on China's government-business relations theory, we use difference-in-differences and causal forest to find that local green finance policies can significantly enhance corporate ESG performance especially for nonstate-owned companies, companies with high levels of executive social capital, non-heavily polluting companies, and companies in developed regions. We also find that the corporate financing constraint mitigation effect and the regional environmental regulation effect of local green finance policies are important mechanisms for promoting corporate ESG performance. Additionally, local green finance policies can strengthen the positive role of corporate ESG performance in enhancing corporate value, which is conducive to corporate sustainability.     

Do Swedish multinationals pay less in taxes than domestic firms?

In recent years, there has been growing concern that multinational enterprises (MNE s) engage in strategic tax planning in order to shift profits to low‐tax jurisdictions. This common perception is generally confirmed by empirical evidence, which is foremost provided for countries with high corporate taxes and relatively complex tax systems. We investigate whether multinational firms in a country with a comparatively more competitive tax system undertake profit shifting. We do this using detailed census data from corporate income statements and balance sheets filed by Swedish manufacturing firms between 1997 and 2007. We detect profit shifting by comparing MNE s with (purely) domestic firms. In particular, we identify systematic differences in tax payments, earnings (before interest and taxes) and equity ratios between multinational and comparable domestic firms based on propensity score matching. In addition, we examine the tax behavioural impact of acquiring multinational status using difference‐in‐differences estimations and/or propensity score matching. Our results reveal that the extent to which multinational firms have lower tax payments than their domestic counterparts depends on their production characteristics and foreign market outreach. In particular, we find evidence indicating that firms operating in few foreign markets and firms that become multinational engage in profit shifting from Sweden.     

Business performance and social media: Love or hate?

The social media space has become a common place for communication, networking, and content sharing. Many companies seek marketing and business opportunities via these platforms. However, the link between resources generated from these sites and business performance remains largely unexploited. Both managers and financial advisors can profit from the lessons learned in this study. We conceptualize four channels by which social media impacts financial, operational, and corporate social performance: social capital, customers’ revealed preferences, social marketing, and social corporate networking. An empirical test of our framework shows that ‘followers’ and ‘likes’ positively influence a firm's share value, but only after a critical mass of followers is attained. Our estimates suggest that Twitter is a more powerful tool to enhance business performance than Facebook.     

Competitive sustainable processes and pricing decisions in omnichannel closed-up supply chains under different channel power structures

In recent years, omnichannel retailing and remanufacturing issues have rapidly emerged in the closed-loop supply chain (CLSC). The omnichannel is a combination of online and in-store retailing, and it affects supply chain relationships and channel power structures by changing value creation processes. It allows consumers a hybrid shopping experience where they can order products online and pick them up in the store or test in-store and buy online (TSBO). Despite this practice, no studies exist on CLSC considering omnichannel retailing under different channel power structures. We investigate the TSBO retailing strategy and its impact on CLSC profit considering price competition between manufacturer and remanufacturer under Manufacturer Stackelberg (MS), Retailer Stackelberg (RS), Vertical Nash (VN), and cooperation (CO) models game settings. In this paper, mathematical models are developed to drive the optimal solution. A two-part tariff coordination mechanism (i.e., IS model) is also used to integrate all supply chain members. The proposed models examine the environmental and social welfare benefits of adopting green innovation products and remanufacturing processes in omnichannel retailing. A numerical study is carried out to illustrate the proposed models' application. The results show that the IS model can synchronize the economic, environmental, and social aspects leading to significant increases in performance. Total supply chain profit under the CO model is the highest. The manufacturer and remanufacturer generate higher profits in the MS model, whereas the retailer makes higher profits in the RS and VN models. When a manufacturer only wants to increase profit with green processes and is not concerned about omnichannel processes, more resources must be allocated for green innovation.     

Market reactions to export subsidies

This paper analyzes the economic impact of export subsidies by investigating stock price reactions to a critical event in 1997. On November 18, 1997, the European Union announced its intention to file a complaint before the World Trade Organization (WTO), arguing that the United States provided American exporters illegal subsidies by permitting them to use Foreign Sales Corporations to exempt a fraction of export profits from taxation. Share prices of American exporters fell sharply on this news, and its implication that the WTO might force the United States to eliminate the subsidy, which happened in 2004. The share price declines were largest for exporters with high profit margins and those whose tax situations made the threatened export subsidy particularly valuable. This evidence suggests that export subsidies do not merely benefit foreign consumers, but also improve the profitability of exporters, particularly those earning rents in imperfectly competitive markets.     

合作社内部交易的价格风险配置及其影响因素分析——基于山东省苹果种植户的问卷调查

合作社内部交易的价格风险配置不仅影响风险性农产品的市场供给,而且关系到合作社能否持续和健康发展。利用山东省苹果种植户的调查数据,实证分析合作社内部交易的价格风险配置及其影响因素。实地调查发现,约有45.4%的样本农户与合作社交易时能够在一定程度上降低价格风险。进一步研究显示,合作社内部交易的价格风险配置主要受到种植规模、距市场距离、产品质量、社会资本、合作社类型、年末返利和技术服务等因素的影响,而销售难度、入社时间和结算方式等因素则不具有统计显著性。     

Corporate tax systems, multinational enterprises, and economic integration

Multinational firms are known to shift profits and countries are known to compete over shifty profits. Two major principles for corporate taxation are Separate Accounting (SA) and Formula Apportionment (FA). These two principles have very different qualities when it comes to preventing profit shifting and preserving national tax autonomy. Most OECD countries use SA. In this paper we show that a reduction in trade barriers lowers equilibrium corporate taxes under SA, but leads to higher taxes under FA. From a welfare point of view, the choice of tax principle is shown to depend on the degree of economic integration.     

Optimal pricing in social networks considering reference price effect

We study the optimal monopoly pricing strategies in a social network, in which consumers experience a network effect that is dependent on their neighbors' consumptions and a reference price which is the average price received by their neighbors. We establish a two-stage game model for any social network. Utilizing the backward induction, we derive the equilibrium price by maximizing the monopolist's profit. In addition, we apply this model to the two most commonly used network structures: the star network and the bipartite network. We find that both the network effect and the reference price effect play a critical role in deciding pricing strategies in social networks. Moreover, our numerical results demonstrate that whether to implement discriminatory pricing depends critically on the network structure. This work provides monopoly firms a useful guideline for optimal pricing decisions in social network marketing.     

The economic consequences of corporate tax rates reductions in the EU: Evidence using a computable general equilibrium model

In a globalised world, governments are eager to attract foreign investors by lowering corporate tax rates. Recent trends point towards a revival of a race to the bottom in corporate income tax (CIT) rates in developed economies. EU countries have been active in this respect. A generalised fall in CIT rate could prove detrimental to tax revenues and trigger increase in other taxes to meet fiscal policy objectives. However, it could also spur investment and growth and prove to be a good fiscal policy strategy if, as a result, the corporate tax base increases. The final economic and fiscal impact of a reduction in CIT rates is therefore unclear. Using a CGE model, we find that uncoordinated tax reforms significantly impact national economies and third‐country effects can be significant when large countries implement CIT rate cuts. Small countries are better off unilaterally reducing their CIT rate at the expense of other EU countries. We find that negative spillovers are mitigated when the country reducing its CIT rate restores its budget balance by cutting either public expenditures or social transfers. A larger degree of non‐EU capital mobility also tends to reduce the negative spillover effects of unilateral CIT rate reductions.     

Comparison of selective hedging and options strategies in cattle feedlot risk management

A cattle feedlot marketing simulation model was developed and used to evaluate the performance of various feedlot marketing strategies. The marketing analysis included corn, feeder cattle, and fed cattle integrated marketing alternatives. A variety of strategies were compared including hedging and put option purchasing as signaled via profit margins or price forecasts. The results indicate that cattle feeders could have historically increased profitability and decreased the variability of profits through selective marketing by using either profit margins or price forecasts to signal market positions as compared to cash marketing strategies. In addition, several strategies were found that stochastically dominated cash marketing.     

Environmental Tax and Public Ownership in Vertically Related Markets

This paper investigates the optimal rate of environmental tax and level of privatization in a vertical relationship between one partially privatized producer and two private sellers. The main results are as follows: First, privatization of the producer firm decreases environmental damage. Second, the optimal environmental tax rate equals the Pigouvian level. Third, fully nationalizing the producer firm is optimal when the government simultaneously decides upon the environmental tax rate; then, privatization decreases social welfare.     

基于现代信息技术的营销组合决策研究

本文以现代信息技术为主要手段,以营销组合模型的构建和应用为研究对象,通过在非价格营销因素的市场反应模型的基础上引入非价格因素的递延效应,对价格与非价格营销因素组合原理和方法进行研究;通过论述价格与非价格营销因素之间的相互影响及其组合效应,构建了价格与非价格营销因素的组合决策模型;基于已构建的市场反应模型和营销组合模型,研发了具有高度人机交互性和可操作性的营销决策支持系统,并以模拟数据验证了模型的有效性。