The main issues regarding international taxation shifted from the international double taxation and intetnational tax avoidance to the intetnational double non-taxation, with the result that “base erosion and profit shifting” (BEPS) is now a serious worldwide political and social problem. The OECD published BEPS Final Report in October 2015 in response to BEPS arising from the the intetnational double non-taxation by the globalisation of multinational enterprises and the digitalisation of economy. The report was adopted by the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Novenber 2015. The OECD then established the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS (“BEPS Inclusive Framework”) in 2016 in order to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of economy and in October 2020, it published reports on the Pillar One and Pillar Two Blueprints as a possible basis for a consensus solution to the issues on BEPS. “Pillar One” focused on nexus and profit allocation applicable to business profits in order to ensure a level playing field among all jurisdictions and realise a fairer and more efficient allocation of taxing rights. In “Pillar Two”, the global introduction of a minimum corporate tax rate was proposed in order to ensure that all large internationally operating businesses pay at least a minimum level of tax.

In this article, the contents and the characteristics of “Pillar Two” in the reports on the pillar blueprints endorsed in October 2020 by the BEPS Inclusive Framework, as well as the final agreement by G20 in October 2021 are analysed, and the international taxation issues (BEPS) are explored theoretically.

The study examines the interaction between returns and order flow imbalances (differences between buy and sell orders), constructed from the best (highest) bid and best (lowest) offer files of S&P 500 E-mini futures contract, using a structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) model. The well-known intraday variation in market variables such as the number and size of orders is considered by applying the SVAR model for each short interval each day, whereas the endogeneity due to time aggregation is handled by estimating the structural parameters via identification through heteroskedasticity. The results show that significant endogeneity exists and that the estimated parameters and associated variates, such as the return variance driven by order flow imbalances, vary over time, reflecting the movements in market variables.

In this paper, we analyzed the process of SMEs working on sustainability management and changes in employee awareness from case studies and employee questionnaires. As a result, the following three points were clarified.

First, managers who have a sense of crisis about the current situation are building a business model to work on solving social issues by meeting various stakeholders and collecting information.

Second, sustainability management initiatives have led to the development of new products and the development of new sales channels. In this process, the acquisition of certification, the cooperation of management, and the utilization of existing business partners have contributed.

Third, efforts for sustainability management have led to changes in employee awareness. On the other hand, it is not easy to instill a policy on sustainability management among employees. This is especially true for part-time employees.

In the field of organization identity, few papers have looked at its formation. In order to do so, this paper links the how, the what and the why of identity formation. Taking a longitudinal approach to the continuous execution of strategy, this study focuses on the interrelationship between organizational strategy and identity in describing the formation of organizational identity. To this end, it presents the case study of Kinsei Seishi Co., Ltd., a pioneer of dry-laid non-woven fabrics in the domestic non-woven fabric industry that established a competitive advantage in the niche market by pursuing development of Japan’s first high-performance and high-value-added non-woven fabric.

This study examines the formation of the company’s organizational identity from the viewpoint of the interrelationship between strategy and identity by investigating the success of its PET bottle recycled non-woven fabric and synthetic fiber dry-laid non-woven fabric businesses, which happened at different points in their history. The results indicate that the “pursuit of niche-topping strategy through active development of high-value-added products” by successive leaders was a deep process in the formation of the company’s organizational identity. This reveals the influence of this (the how) on the formation of the company’s organizational identity (the what) for the sake of gaining a sustainable competitive advantage in non-woven niche markets (the why).

The business succession of SMEs is becoming a serious issue, increasing number of business successions to women, which are often carried out with less management experience and no preparation period, so it is necessary to create an environment that promotes post-succession business growth. Preliminary research revealed inhibiting factors to include lack of management experience due to inadequate preparation time, limited time to manage the business due to juggling housework and childcare, and the scarcity of role models. An analysis of the differences in characteristics between male and female successors revealed significant differences in corporate age, number of employees, and managerial age. This study analyzed the financial data of 400 SMEs with female successors, using probit regression and multivariate analysis to measure the differences in corporate performance between intra-relative and non-relative succession and companies’ characteristics. Results showed that (1) companies succeeded to relatives were older in corporate and managerial age, and smaller (capital and employees); (2) sales and net income were lower, and profit margins tended to be negative, while the sales per employee tended to be higher; and (3) the higher the number of employees, the more profitable the company. In conclusion, female successors, who tend to be strong on increasing staff numbers and staff development, may be a positive for business growth.

An organization can be the subject of philosophy. Philosophy in the traditional sense is about individuals asking intellectual questions but, in this paper, we construct an organization-based philosophy and argue that its content can be expressed verbally. Organizations create knowledge and influence organizational learning, organizational culture, and organizational behavior. Organization-based philosophy is also necessary in rebuilding the scale and norms of an organization. Political science, business administration, law, psychology, economics, and sociology are disciplines that see organizations as important units of analysis, and interdisciplinary research can be constructed from these disciplines through the organizational philosophy lens. We are entering an era in which AI (artificial intelligence) is becoming a constituent of organizations. This calls for a new organization-based philosophy to be added to the philosophy that sees human beings as individuals alone.

This paper discusses the entrepreneurship that started the Dainippon Pharmaceutical Company. Based on “Wagasha Gojuunen no Ayumi (Fifty Years of Our Company)”, the importance of drug wholesalers in Osaka, who established a pharmaceutical company by joint investment and a drug testing agency, becomes clearer.

According to the document, at the time the semi-governmental Dainippon Pharmaceutical Company was established, it was envisaged that it would ensure stable medicine supply in the case of a pandemic. This company was later acquired by Osaka Pharmaceutical Works Co., Ltd., a firm founded by drug wholesalers in Osaka. The document clarifies that medicine dealers in Osaka had concerns about the questionable quality of the medicines they stocked. Their intention to restore professional honor was clearly a factor in the founding of the company.

When they established a company to test medicines, it was insisted that testing should be a private sector activity along the lines of the situation in Europe. This document also reveals a view that the semi-governmental testing laboratory would eventually be closed down as Japan modernized, which also drove the founding of the testing company.

This energetic approach is illustrated in the lobbying of government in proposing the establishment of a pharmaceutical industry research committee during World War I. Additionally, some companies founded scholarship programs to assist the development of pharmaceutical research.

This paper further reveals the foresight, energy and leadership of medicine dealers in Osaka.