'Pouring politics down our throats': political CSR communication and consumer catharsis

This chapter theorizes the outrageous consumer response that may follow the communication of political corporate social responsibility (CSR). We consider two recent cases (Starbucks’s offer to hire refugees and Pepsi’s appropriation of protest movements in an ad) and how consumers-citizens reacted when these corporations communicated political issues. By drawing from psychoanalytic concepts, we illustrate how consumers’ outrage, expressed in angry social media comments, and in the creation and sharing of memes, is cathartic of unconscious repressed matter: the realization of their own powerless and the domination of corporations. We further note how these expressions of outrage may be understood to result from defense mechanisms such as denial, displacement, or more complex sublimation that help consumers maintain a position of passive domination by corporations. Like all psychoanalytic applications, our interpretation represents only a plausible metaphor that can explain the “irrational” behavior of consumers. Positivist traditions of CSR theorization may demand further causal studies to confirm the ideas we express. Our study is an original exploration of what underlies consumer responses to political CSR. These cases could inform academics and practitioners working in the business and society arena asking them to re-evaluate whether and how political CSR should be communicated, and the implications of the rapid diffusion of messages in social media that include mocking parody and offensive brand comments

ATAD3 en de gevolgen voor Nederlandse brievenbusfirma’s

Eind december 2021 heeft de Europese Commissie de richtlijn tegen het gebruik van shell companies uitgebracht. In dit artikel bespreken wij de voorgestelde ATAD3-richtlijn en gaan in op de mogelijke gevolgen voor Nederland. We constateren dat de meeste bijzondere financiële instellingen (bfi’s) aan de drie gateway-criteria voldoen, maar dat een groot deel echter voldoende substantie heeft of belastingbesparing niet (meer) als hoofdmotief heeft. Daarmee is de conclusie dat een groot deel van de bfi’s niet door deze richtlijn geraakt wordt, maar wel dat de richtlijn zal bijdragen aan een verdere vermindering van het aantal en de omvang van de bfi’s

A methodology to measure the quality of tax avoidance case studies: Findings from the Netherlands

Contains fulltext : 219369.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)In recent years, there have been substantial efforts to combat corporate tax avoidance. These efforts have been propelled in part by mediatized case studies, conducted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups, on the tax avoidance practices of multinational enterprises. These case studies have been criticized because they allegedly lack quality, but this criticism has not been assessed academically. This research seeks to address that gap. It proposes a new methodology to analyze the quality of these case studies systematically. We construct ten indicators related to alleged weaknesses and use these to assess 14 case studies involving Dutch corporate entities. We find that the quality of these case studies is affected negatively by a lack of adequate data. Thus, if companies and governments enhance transparency, this could increase the quality of case studies by NGOs. In addition to this, we find that the NGOs themselves can sometimes increase the quality of their case studies by investing in technical expertise and adopting practices that foster objectivity. The methodology developed for this study could also be of use for other topical debates, such as disclosure requirements and corporate social responsibility reporting. Whereas we were able to address challenges related to internal validity, the external validity of the findings could still be improved by extending the selection of case studies.18 p

Dividendbelasting brievenbusfirma's

De vestiging van brievenbusmaatschappijen in Nederland en hun gebruik van fiscale faciliteiten staan ter discussie. Voorstanders wijzen op hun bijdrage aan de Nederlandse schatkist in termen van dividendbelasting. De berekening daarvan is complex en omgeven met onzekerheid, wat een eindoordeel belemmert. Een precisering van een eerdere berekening is behulpzaam, door gebruik te maken van gedetailleerdere cijfers en aanvullende aannames voor de meest relevante landen. De door brievenbusfirma’s afgedragen dividendbelasting lag gemiddeld tussen de 400 en 1050 miljoen euro per jaar in de periode 2010-2012