IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormsom/v20y2018i4pv.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Optimal Pricing and Inventory Planning with Charitable Donations

Author

Listed:
  • Leon Yang Chu

    (Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089)

  • Guang Li

    (Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada)

  • Paat Rusmevichientong

    (Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089)

Abstract

Problem definition : This paper investigates firms’ optimal operational decisions and after-tax profits with regard to tax deduction for charitable donations. Academic/practical relevance : Motivated by the steady growth in noncash donations from U.S. companies, our work is the first to provide theoretical guidance on operational planning under tax deduction for both precommitted donations and end-of-season donations. Methodology : We analyze the impact of tax deduction for a profit-driven firm under a two-period price-markdown newsvendor model and characterize the firm’s optimal price and quantity decisions. Results : The firm’s optimal donation behavior is driven by two factors—fixed cost and demand uncertainty. Specifically, a positive fixed cost can induce precommitted donation during the regular selling season, and demand uncertainty can induce end-of-season donation during the clearance period. Managerial insights : The enhanced tax deduction that is designed to encourage charitable donations results in unexpected behavior by the firm. For example, the firm’s optimal clearance price can increase with the amount of leftover inventory, and the firm’s optimal after-tax profit can increase as the tax rate increases. While the value of the deduction is tied to the fair market value (and the price) of the product, surprisingly, the firm may find it more profitable to charge a lower price, because the lower price may scale up the demand uncertainty and consequently increase the expected tax subsidy under the enhanced tax deduction. Our analysis reveals important insights about the impact of the tax law on a monopolist’s optimal operational decisions and profit.

Suggested Citation

  • Leon Yang Chu & Guang Li & Paat Rusmevichientong, 2018. "Optimal Pricing and Inventory Planning with Charitable Donations," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 687-703, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormsom:v:20:y:2018:i:4:p:v
    DOI: 10.1287/msom.2017.0676
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2017.0676
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/msom.2017.0676?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wenqiang Xiao & Vernon N. Hsu & Qiaohai (Joice) Hu, 2015. "Manufacturing Capacity Decisions with Demand Uncertainty and Tax Cross-Crediting," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 384-398, July.
    2. Anil Arya & Brian Mittendorf, 2015. "Supply Chain Consequences of Subsidies for Corporate Social Responsibility," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 24(8), pages 1346-1357, August.
    3. Gérard P. Cachon & A. Gürhan Kök, 2007. "Implementation of the Newsvendor Model with Clearance Pricing: How to (and How Not to) Estimate a Salvage Value," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 276-290, October.
    4. Woonghee Tim Huh & Kun Soo Park, 2013. "Impact of transfer pricing methods for tax purposes on supply chain performance under demand uncertainty," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 60(4), pages 269-293, June.
    5. Masha Shunko & Laurens Debo & Srinagesh Gavirneni, 2014. "Transfer Pricing and Sourcing Strategies for Multinational Firms," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 23(12), pages 2043-2057, December.
    6. Morris A. Cohen & Suman Mallik, 1997. "Global Supply Chains: Research And Applications," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 6(3), pages 193-210, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Özbilge, Armağan & Hassini, Elkafi & Parlar, Mahmut, 2024. "Optimal pricing and donation policy for fresh goods," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 312(1), pages 198-210.
    2. Georgia Perakis & Melvyn Sim & Qinshen Tang & Peng Xiong, 2023. "Robust Pricing and Production with Information Partitioning and Adaptation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(3), pages 1398-1419, March.
    3. Nur Ayvaz Çavdaroğlu, 2020. "Joint Pricing and Ordering Problem with Charitable Donations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    4. Huang, Guoxuan & Zheng, Benrong & Zou, Bipan & Cheng, T.C.E., 2022. "Strategic role of charitable donation in supply chain coordination with consumer prosocial preference," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    5. Atalay Atasu & Charles J. Corbett & Ximin (Natalie) Huang & L. Beril Toktay, 2020. "Sustainable Operations Management Through the Perspective of Manufacturing & Service Operations Management," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 146-157, January.
    6. Xu, Xianhao & Chen, Cheng & Zou, Bipan & Wang, Hongwei & Li, Zhiwen, 2023. "Shipping before order making: Optimal shipping quantity and pricing decisions under uncertain demand," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Deng, Sijing & Xu, Jiayan & Han, Yonghui, 2023. "A proprietary component manufacturer’s global supply chain design: The impacts of tax and organizational structure," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    2. Niu, Baozhuang & Xu, Jingwen & Lee, Carman K.M. & Chen, Lei, 2019. "Order timing and tax planning when selling to a rival in a low-tax emerging market," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 165-179.
    3. Shi, Xiutian & Tang, Jianxi & Dong, Ciwei, 2022. "Should a domestic firm carve out a niche in overseas markets? Value of purchasing agents," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(1), pages 85-94.
    4. Niu, Baozhuang & Li, Qiyang & Liu, Yaoqi, 2020. "Conflict management in a multinational firm's production shifting decisions," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    5. Niu, Baozhuang & Xu, Haotao & Xie, Fengfeng, 2021. "Free shipping in cross-border supply chains considering tax disparity and carrier’s pricing decisions," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    6. Wu, Zhiqiao & Lu, Xiangyuan, 2018. "The effect of transfer pricing strategies on optimal control policies for a tax-efficient supply chain," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 209-219.
    7. Lu, Xiangyuan & Wu, Zhiqiao, 2020. "How taxes impact bank and trade financing for Multinational Firms," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 286(1), pages 218-232.
    8. Kim, Bosung & Park, Kun Soo & Jung, Se-Youn & Park, Sang Hun, 2018. "Offshoring and outsourcing in a global supply chain: Impact of the arm’s length regulation on transfer pricing," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 266(1), pages 88-98.
    9. Kopel, Michael & Löffler, Clemens, 2023. "Tax differences and international location strategies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    10. Huang, Hongfu & He, Yong & Li, Dong & Li, Shanshan, 2023. "Competing multinationals’ backshoring decisions: Tax arbitrage versus production reliability tradeoff," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 311(2), pages 515-532.
    11. Jung, Se-Youn & Huh, Woonghee Tim & Park, Kun Soo, 2022. "Impact of the arm’s length regulation on a supply chain with asymmetric retailers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 300(3), pages 865-883.
    12. Yang, Huixiao & Ou, Jinwen & Chen, Xiaofeng, 2021. "Impact of tariffs and production cost on a multinational firm's incentive for backshoring under competition," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    13. Guoming Lai & Yixuan Liu & Wenqiang Xiao, 2021. "International Taxation and Production Outsourcing," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(2), pages 402-418, February.
    14. Niu, Baozhuang & Chen, Lingyun & Wang, Jingmai, 2022. "Ad valorem tariff vs. specific tariff: Quality-differentiated e-tailers’ profitability and social welfare in cross-border e-commerce," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    15. Niu, Baozhuang & Mu, Zihao & Cao, Bin & Gao, Jie, 2021. "Should multinational firms implement blockchain to provide quality verification?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    16. Chen, Lei & Huang, Qiuyu & Xu, Jingwen, 2024. "On the “prisoner’s dilemma” of order timing in a cross-border and co-opetitive supply chain," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    17. Wenqiang Xiao & Vernon N. Hsu & Qiaohai (Joice) Hu, 2015. "Manufacturing Capacity Decisions with Demand Uncertainty and Tax Cross-Crediting," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 17(3), pages 384-398, July.
    18. He, Haonan & Wang, Shanyong, 2019. "Cost-benefit associations in consumer inventory problem with uncertain benefit," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 271-284.
    19. Yue Tan & Chunxiang Guo, 2019. "Research on Two-Way Logistics Operation with Uncertain Recycling Quality in Government Multi-Policy Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Mitroussi, K. & Abouarghoub, W. & Haider, J.J. & Pettit, S.J. & Tigka, N., 2016. "Performance drivers of shipping loans: An empirical investigation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(P3), pages 438-452.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormsom:v:20:y:2018:i:4:p:v. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.