Revenue Sharing and Information Exchange under Non‐discriminatory Taxation*

The international exchange of tax information, and its merits compared to withholding taxation, has emerged as a central topic in international tax policy. We characterize and compare the outcomes that emerge, in a two‐country world, with and without information exchange, under the assumption that countries are unable to tax residents and non‐residents differentially. The analysis focuses on the role of asymmetries in country size (capturing a key feature of tax havens) and on the impact and potential desirability of schemes to share the revenue raised by withholding (as under the new EU savings tax arrangements) or (more innovatively) as a consequence of information exchange. We show that, irrespective of any difference in country size, it is in the interests of both countries, in terms of tax revenue, that all revenue collected from non‐residents be transferred to the residence country—which would entail taking the EU practice even further from the norm, but is currently the standard in relation to information exchange. A withholding scheme with revenue fully reallocated in this way gives both countries more revenue than does information sharing, whatever the allocation under the latter.     

Coordinating Tariff Reduction and Domestic Tax Reform under Imperfect Competition*

A major constraint on trade liberalization in many countries is the prospective loss of government revenue. Recent results, however, have established a simple and appealing strategy for overcoming this difficulty, whilst still realizing the efficiency gains from liberalization, in small, competitive economies: combining tariff cuts with point‐for‐point increases in destination‐based consumption taxes unambiguously increases both national welfare and total government revenue. This note explores the implications of imperfect competition for this strategy. Examples are easily found in which this strategy unambiguously reduces domestic welfare.     

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Models and Theories in Stakeholder Dialogue

The pharmaceutical sector, an industry already facing stiff challenges in the form of intensified competition and strategic consolidation, has increasingly become subject to a range of pressures. Crucially, in common with other large-scale businesses, pharmaceutical firms find themselves ‹invited’ to respond positively to the corporate ‹social’ responsibility (CSR) expectations of their stakeholders. Consequently, individual managers will almost certainly be obliged to engage in some form of stakeholder dialogue and this, in turn, means that they will have to make difficult choices about which practices to adopt. This real-world management predicament runs parallel to an academic interest in CSR stakeholder dialogue theory and models. Accordingly, the approach of this paper is to focus primarily on the academic debate surrounding stakeholder dialogue, by reviewing past attempts to research and theorise the subject, by identifying gaps and weaknesses in the literature, and by proposing a new analytical model. The central aim of the proposed new model is to offer a unified, structured, systematic, and comprehensive approach to CSR decision making whilst simultaneously providing a practical framework for CSR executives who face the challenge of responding in an effective manner to stakeholders. The model outlined here is currently being employed to conduct international comparative empirical research into stakeholder dialogue practices amongst UK and German pharmaceutical firms. In the longer term the intention is to use the model to undertake international comparative research encompassing a broader range of countries and industries.     

Visualising Time: A Compendium of Time Series Plots

Graphs are important for highlighting relationships within a data series or across several series. Modern computer software has provided flexibility in the construction of graphic displays that would have been impossible with the tools that were available to researchers only a few decades ago. This article illustrates a variety of different graphical presentations for time ordered or time series data that can now be constructed. These include time series plots, bar charts, range plots, radar charts, scatter plots, heat maps and seasonality plots. For each graph type presented, we discuss the best practice for their construction.     

The contribution of start-ups and young firms to industry-level efficiency growth

This article examines the impact of start-ups (active for 1 up to 5 years) and young firms (active for 6 up to 10 years) on industry-level efficiency growth in six EU countries, covering the period 2002–2009. Using semi-parametric estimates of meta-frontier efficiency, it is found that surviving entrants gradually raise their efficiency level in all countries considered. Firm-level efficiency growth decreases with firm age, whereas reallocation towards efficient firms contributes more to industry-level growth as firms mature. The relative contribution of start-ups appears to have been important as they actually contributed positively to overall efficiency growth which, over the period under consideration, was negative in most countries, even before the ‘Great Recession’. There are indications of ‘cleansing’, due to the exit of less efficient firms, during the ‘Great Recession’.     

Deconstructing the Franchise as a Legal Entity: Practice and Research in International Franchise Law

This article canvasses practice and research in international franchising law. The franchisor law's key concepts are introduced. I then identify aspects of franchising practice that are poorly accommodated by the law. These aspects offer opportunities for productive research. I identify these aspects as follows: franchising law's reliance on contracts to regulate the relationship through all its phases, the risk that a “franchisee” is an employee, good faith, governance, and insolvency. I continue with suggestions as to why these challenges exist. The article concludes with emerging themes in franchise practice and research: e-commerce, natural disasters, sustainability, micro-franchising, and social franchising.     

Exploring competitive hotel selection attributes among guests: An importance-performance analysis

This study aimed to explore the hotel selection attributes among local guests in the competitive hotel industry in Korea and to test the role of these explored attributes in building behavioral intentions. A total of seven dimensions, which involved 17 intangible and 16 tangible attributes, were identified. The findings indicated that intangible attributes are relatively more important but offer less satisfaction, whereas tangible attributes provide a higher level of satisfaction than perceived importance. Moreover, the importance-performance analysis grid visually depicted the importance and satisfaction ratings of each attribute demonstrating its strengths and weaknesses. All intangible attributes were significantly associated with intentions.     

Strategic market environments

The marketing strategy literature stresses the need to find an optimum “fit” between the firm and its environment. Utilising a relatively novel clustering technique, five distinct environments facing marketing managers in the United Kingdom were identified and the marketing strategies adopted in each environment examined. Marketing objectives and strategic focii were found to differ markedly by strategic environments, while competitive advantages created and pursued did not. The latter were found to be company, rather than environment, specific.