Suk H. Kim and Gregory Ulferts
A quarter of a century has passed since Stonehill and Nathanson (1968) surveyed multinational companies to determine their foreign capital budgeting practices. Since then…
Abstract
A quarter of a century has passed since Stonehill and Nathanson (1968) surveyed multinational companies to determine their foreign capital budgeting practices. Since then, research has not only refined its theoretical base on this subject but also expanded the knowledge of actual practices by multinational companies. This article summarizes the findings of major multinational capital budgeting studies for the last 25 years to ascertain whether companies followed theoretically prescribed approaches. Then, it suggests further research to advance the knowledge on this subject.
Morris Kalliny, Mamoun Benmamoun, Robert A. Cropf and Seung H. Kim
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of large business corporations, particularly media corporations, such as television (e.g. satellite networks), newspapers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of large business corporations, particularly media corporations, such as television (e.g. satellite networks), newspapers and social media (e.g. Facebook), on institutional change in the Arab world, which directly impact political and civil liberties in the region.
Design/methodology/approach
Although there are several methods to measure institutional change, this paper relied on Kaufmann et al. (2010)’s governance indicators that capture, historically, how authority is exercised in a nation state. As the focus of this paper is on how information flows have empowered citizens in the Arab world, we built a panel database around one relevant governance indicator: “Voice and Accountability”. As a measure of governance, “Voice and Accountability” summarizes the condition of political, civil and human rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of association in a given country. This indicator takes scores ranging from 2.5, corresponding to strong governance, to −2.5, corresponding to weak governance.
Findings
As predicted, the information flows variable has a positive and significant effect on institutional change. Table II also suggests that political globalization has a positive and significant effect on institutional change in the Arab world. In contrast, the variables for cultural proximity and human capital are associated with negative effects on institutional change.
Originality/value
This paper is unique in the sense that it tackles a growing trend in the Arab world, namely, the impact of media on institutions.
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Richard M. Burns and Joe Walker
In response to a call for more research on the “why” of capital budgeting practices, a survey was sent to the Fortune 500 firms to (1) look at the detailed reasons they used…
Abstract
In response to a call for more research on the “why” of capital budgeting practices, a survey was sent to the Fortune 500 firms to (1) look at the detailed reasons they used particular capital budgeting techniques, (2) to determine if and why they had changed their emphasis on any of those techniques in the last five or ten years, and (3) to explore the importance of strategic considerations in capital budgeting. Detailed reasons and their rankings are given for the choices of payback, discounted payback, accounting rate of return, internal rate of return, modified internal rate of return, profitability index, net present value, and other miscellaneous techniques.
The economic phenomenon of “globalization” has broadly affected the health care industry and the medical profession in the late 20th century. Governmental and private sector…
Abstract
The economic phenomenon of “globalization” has broadly affected the health care industry and the medical profession in the late 20th century. Governmental and private sector managed care reach is expanding globally, as patients are “ecuritized” and traded as covered lives. Arbitrage of health care goods and services is creating commoditization effects, including trans‐border parallel markets (i.e. black markets). Consumers and governments are becoming concerned about privacy issues and product standardization, while Third World challenges remain in the public health realm (i.e., infectious pandemics, sanitation, nutrition and overpopulation).
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Lawrence Peter Shao and Alan T. Shao
The purpose of this study is to examine the capital budgeting strategies that are used by foreign subsidiaries of U.S.‐based multinational enterprises. While the results indicated…
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the capital budgeting strategies that are used by foreign subsidiaries of U.S.‐based multinational enterprises. While the results indicated a preference for sophisticated capital budgeting techniques as the primary method of analysis, the actual use of sophisticated capital budgeting techniques by foreign managers may not be as widespread as expected by financial theorists. Although it was found that certain environmental and company‐specific factors influenced the level of sophistication of capital budgeting practices used by U.S. foreign subsidiaries, the associations were small and had only minor explanatory significance. The results showed that foreign subsidiaries exposed to high levels of political and financial risk tended to use sophisticated capital budgeting strategies. Subsidiaries characterized by high levels of financial leverage and high cost of capital requirements also employed advanced capital budgeting strategies. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) have many options available to them in terms of how they manage their foreign subsidiaries. Traditionally, most major policy decisions were made at the parent firm's headquarter office while foreign subsidiaries had few opportunities to influence major corporate decisions. Today, more companies are using a flexible approach which involves setting strategic goals at the home office and allowing local managers to implement their own specific policies. An important question in this study involved determining how effective local foreign managers were in implementing their capital budgeting processes. As U.S.‐based MNEs continue to expand their operations abroad, there is an increased need to examine which financial decision models are actually used by subsidiary managers to deal with the increased complexity of investing in foreign countries. Unlike traditional capital budgeting analysis, international analysis is a considerably more complex process. These complexities occur for a number of reasons including complicated cash flows estimates, changes in foreign exchange rates, different accounting systems, potential for blocked funds, and political risk considerations. These factors are rarely experienced by traditionally domestic U.S. firms. To maintain a competitive edge, MNEs must continue to use the most efficient approaches available to them. This study provides a detailed analysis of the capital budgeting practices that are actually being used by foreign subsidiaries of U.S.‐based MNEs. The paper is organized in the following manner. Section I provides a brief overview of the theoretical and practical issues of international capital budgeting analysis. Section II focuses on the areas of data collection, questionnaire design, and environment‐specific and company‐specific factors. Section III discusses usage of capital budgeting techniques, adjustment and assessment of project risk, and factors influencing capital budgeting policies. The final section presents some findings from this study.
Connie Rae Bateman, Neil C. Herndon and John P. Fraedrich
This paper represents a discussion of transfer pricing (TP). Key factors are identified and propositions developed from tax accounting and other perspectives. Stages of the TP…
Abstract
This paper represents a discussion of transfer pricing (TP). Key factors are identified and propositions developed from tax accounting and other perspectives. Stages of the TP decision process are identified along with the critical factors directly affecting sales and a TP audit. Propositions are derived which show relationships among these variables and tax rates, competition, and TP methodologies. Finally, academic research implications are suggested.
Lynette L. Knowles and Ike Mathur
The designing of international transfer pricing systems needs to take into consideration a variety of factors that could ultimately affect the smooth operation of the systems…
Abstract
The designing of international transfer pricing systems needs to take into consideration a variety of factors that could ultimately affect the smooth operation of the systems. Many of these factors are organisational in nature, including organisational and personal perspectives toward transfer pricing. Decentralisation, while allowing lower‐level management mobility in operational decision making, has the potential for suboptimisation. Similarly, it is not immediately apparent whether profit or cost centres are more appropriate for transfer pricing purposes. These and other related factors that influence transfer pricing systems are considered in this article.
Lynette L. Knowles and Ike Mathur
Applied transfer pricing information has repeatedly been proven difficult to gather. Many enterprises work under secrecy regarding transfer pricing systems, believing that caution…
Abstract
Applied transfer pricing information has repeatedly been proven difficult to gather. Many enterprises work under secrecy regarding transfer pricing systems, believing that caution used in revealing information stymies possible problems related to transfer pricing that can involve internal and/or external factors. Even though there is some controversy concerning the appropriateness of the amount of data used in the research, interested parties can still benefit through studies of the transfer pricing literature.
Discusses the 6th ITCRR, its breadth of textile and clothing research activity, plus the encouragement given to workers in this field and its related areas. States that, within…
Abstract
Discusses the 6th ITCRR, its breadth of textile and clothing research activity, plus the encouragement given to workers in this field and its related areas. States that, within the newer research areas under the microscope of the community involved, technical textiles focuses on new, ‘smart’ garments and the initiatives in this field in both the UK and the international community at large. Covers this subject at length.