On July 5, 2024, the Nankai Institute of Economics and Development welcomed Professor Yue Xiaohang from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Professor Yue delivered a lecture on "Impact of Channel Co-opetition and Taxes on a Multinational Firm's Resilient Local Production Decision." The event was chaired by Professor Li Xiang.

Professor Yue Xiaohang focused on the production strategy decisions of multinational companies under the influence of national culture, with a particular emphasis on how government policies affect whether these companies choose to produce products overseas for domestic market sales or to produce and sell locally. The research found that when the variable costs of establishing a factory are low and fixed costs are moderate, multinational companies tend to shift their production strategy preference from local production to overseas production, and then back to local production as channel substitutability increases. Interestingly, when variable costs are low but fixed costs are high, the preference of multinational companies heavily depends on tax differences, exhibiting a threshold policy based on channel substitutability. The findings of this study offer significant insights for multinational companies seeking to leverage culture-oriented tax policies and channel substitutability when establishing factories abroad.

During the Q&A session, participants raised questions on tax planning, fairness principles, and government decision-making on taxation. Professor Yue provided thorough responses, enriching the participants' understanding of multinational companies' strategic decisions.