The VAT-Evading Firm and VAT Evasion: An Empirical Analysis

It has been claimed that an increase in the ratio of VAT reclaimed to VAT paid is an indicator of increasing non-compliance. By examining this ratio, this paper evaluates the potential for VAT non-compliance in the Restaurant and Take-out, Clothing and Footwear, Furniture and Floor-coverings, and Hairdressing markets. Estimates of aggregate expenditure are used to estimate potential gross VAT payments. These are compared with actual gross payments as an indicator of the extent of non-compliance.     

Contextual influences on subjective price perceptions

This article explores the effect of contextual or situational influences on buyer's price judgements. After reviewing relevant literature on contextual influences, the article reports on two experiments investigating the effects of use or purpose of a purchase and previous exposure to a set of prices on subsequent price judgements.In the first experiment, the hypothesis that the number of judgmental categories will vary with the length of price series was not confirmed. Subjects did not differ in their judgement of the lowest acceptable prices, but a higher latitude of acceptance occurred for the long price series—an assimilation effect. The second experiment confirmed the hypothesis that the intended use or purpose of the purchase affects how individuals evaluate prices for the product. The context of intended use offers an additional reason why higher prices can be attractive to some buyers.The two experiments were conducted on 104 male and 32 female undergraduate business majors. In the first experiment subjects sorted, arranged, and categorized a set of 50 prices for pants. Immediately following this task, the second experiment asked the subjects to rate the relative expensiveness of five experimenter-determined prices. In the first experiment prices either ranged from $1.00 to $25.50 or $1.00 to $50.00. In the second experiment, each split-half was given either five low prices or five high prices. Finally, each sample quarter was divided and asked to assume a different reason for buying the pants.     

Consumers’ perceptions of the fairness of price-matching refund policies

This paper examines the antecedents and consequences of perceived price-matching policy fairness. Among the antecedents, we study the effects of the refund depth if a lower competitive price is identified, the degree that the retail product assortment is available at competing retailers, and the consumers’ inference as to the retailer's motive for the price-matching policy. Product assortment uniqueness is identified as a key driver of fairness perceptions, both directly and indirectly through inferred motive. The three experiments show that consumers’ perceptions of the fairness of a store's pricing policy influence their price fairness perceptions, consequently influencing their retail shopping intentions.     

The effects of need for cognition and trait anxiety on price acceptability

This research explored the effects of two personality variables, the need for cognition and trait anxiety, on consumers' price acceptability. The study used 124 subjects to determine support for the predicted relationships between the two personality variables and price acceptability. The results showed that the low need for cognition individuals had significantly lower price acceptability than the high need for cognition individuals. On the other hand, price acceptability showed a U‐shaped relationship with trait anxiety. Price acceptability for both high‐ and low‐anxiety individuals was higher than that for individuals with moderate levels of anxiety. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Social capital and human resource management in international joint ventures in Vietnam: a perspective from a transitional economy

This study highlights the importance of social capital in international joint ventures (IJVs), and examines human resource practices as a factor shaping such social capital. Comprehensive measures of social capital are developed and tested, which extend prior work on ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ social capital. We also link social capital with its anticipated antecedents and consequences. The study's findings are based on data collected from 164 IJVs located in Vietnam. IJV performance was predicted by training and by the level of trust and cooperation between foreign and local personnel. Training (including acquisition of management skills, technology, and cross-cultural understanding) also was predictive of the measures of social capital. A key practical implication arising from this study is that the return on investment from training of joint venture personnel can stem not only from the transfer of technical and management skills needed for developing competitive advantage, but also from the positive impact on social capital, which further contributes to venture success. The establishment of written objectives and plans for the venture, as well as the IJV's level of control regarding its own HR functions also was found to be related to some components of social capital. The findings of this study reinforce the call to build on the contributions of local personnel in joint ventures, and in Vietnam in particular.     

Risk aversion in agricultural water management investments in Northern Ghana: experimental evidence

Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) is one of the regions in the world most affected by food price volatility and production variability. Poor small‐scale farmers in this region are particularly vulnerable to this variability. As a result, households may be reluctant to adopt new agricultural water management (AWM) technologies when they involve more risk than what they mitigate. Despite risk's role in AWM investments, there have been few attempts to estimate the magnitude and nature of risk aversion in relation to this type of farm decisions. To partially close this gap, this article uses an experimental approach applied to 137 households in Northern Ghana. We find that more than 70% of households are moderately or slightly risk averse. This contrasts with other studies in SSA, where most household decision‐makers exhibit severe to extreme risk aversion. We also find that households that stand to lose as well as gain something from participation in games are less risk averse than households playing gains‐only games. This result suggests that most farmers’ current wealth put them at risk of falling into a poverty trap. Thus, the losses from the riskiest investments on AWM technologies may fall more heavily on the poor, suggesting that additional efforts be given to the creation of viable insurance mechanisms.