Competitiveness, Technology Licensing, and Ease of Paying Taxes: A 30-Country Study

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article is to explore the impact of a regulatory constraint: the ease of paying taxes, on the likelihood of technology licensing and the subsequent impact on the sales of firms acquiring such licences across 30 countries.

Research Design & Methods: In a comparative, longitudinal study design we apply random effects panel logit, and random-effects GLS regression models. The World Bank Enterprise Surveys panel data for Central Europe for 2008 to 2013 is the source data for the analysis. Surveys of firms from 30 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia constitute the panel.

Findings: Increasing regulatory burden in the form of tax compliance reduces the likelihood of technology licensing. Technology licensing has only modest effects on sales. Foreign ownership of firms increases both the likelihood of technology licensing and revenues.

Implications & Recommendations: All manner of political entities, from towns to entire nations, revise their tax policies to woo investment. Our current analysis of the marginal effects suggests that the impact of these improvements is underwhelming. Attracting foreign ownership is recommended to increase technology licensing, sales and competitiveness.

Contribution & Value Added: While tax holidays are a common device to woo investment, the interaction of tax regimes with technology licensing, specifically the regulatory burden of preparing and paying taxes, is scarcely studied. It is a gap we strive to fill in this manuscript.

Keywords

competitiveness, technology transfer, licensing, ease of paying taxes, stages of economic development, international business

Author Biography

Michael Troilo

Dr Mike Troilo is Wellspring Associate Professor of International Business, Collins College of Business School of Finance, Operations Management and International Business at University of Tulsa, USA.. He received a Ph.D. from University of Michigan , M.B.A.and M.A. from University of Virginia , and B.B.A. from College of William and Mary.  

Correspondence to: Prof. Mike Troilo, University of Tulsa, Collins College of Business , The University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104, USA, e-mail: mike-troilo@utulsa.edu

Michał Zdziarski

Dr Michał Zdziarski is Assistant Professor of Strategic Management and International Business at Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw. He received Ph.D. in Managerial Economics, MA in American Studies and MA in Business Finance at University of Warsaw.

Correspondence to: Dr. Michał‚ Zdziarski, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, ul. Szturmowa 1/3, 02-678 Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: mzdziarski@wz.uw.edu.pl

J. Markham Collins

Dr. J. Markham Collins is the Bartlett Foundation Professor of Business Finance, Coordinator of International Business Programs, and faculty director of Friends of Finance. Mark received a Ph.D. in Economics, with specialization in finance, from the University of Oklahoma, and his M.A. and B.A. degrees in Economics from the University of Houston.

Correspondence to Prof. J. Markham Collins, University of Tulsa, Collins College of Business , The University of Tulsa, 800 South Tucker Drive, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74104, USA, e-mail: mark-collins@utulsa.edu 

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