Imperatives for Global Offshore Business Transformation

Abstract

. The article is focused on a comprehensive study of global imperatives for offshore business transformation of economic entities, which in recent decades have become a strong framework for increasing their market competitive advantages, manufacturing optimization, "blurring" tax base, and implementing high-pressure tax planning, tax "hybrids" and corporate tax inversions. The article summarizes the methodological approaches to revealing the nature and economic reasons of offshore business based on the arrangement of its key theoretical discourse areas within the framework of international business, management, tax and institutional paradigms. It is emphasized that these paradigms, in line with constant evolving and enriching, reflect the breakthrough trends in international companies, while new scientific schools and fields are accompanied by the active inclusion of business offshoring in the field of research of domestic and foreign scientists. It is proved that the key epistemological feature of the modern theory of offshore business segment is its development within multiparadigmatic framework, which can explain the concept of offshore business in global frame of reference from a dialectical point of view. It is stated that the direct developers and users of comprehensive offshore tools at all stages of its evolutionary development were the top global countries interested in operating networks of international financial centres and tax havens to use them to gain control over companies and businesses in various global economy sectors. The article indicates the key competitive advantages of offshore business for economic entities — manufacturing optimization, tax optimization, institutional barriers breakdown in course of cross-border movement of goods, manufacturing services and factors, as well as streamlining the accounting system of financial and economic transactions. It is emphasized that the global economy used these means in recent decades to form the new generation of multinational enterprises engaging in production and services for third parties based on manufacturer-contractor approach and dynamic development in global framework of international networks of foreign affiliates. The paper substantiates the multichannel nature of modern offshoring of multinational enterprises business through constant influence on its transformation of key imperatives of global economic development: financial and monetary, multinational, institutional and regulatory, social and property, information and communication requirements. It is noted that the common effect of these imperatives has led to the formation of trans-global elite in recent decades and the deep convergence of geographically different offshore territories into a global network of global financial centres joined in organizational, economic, technological, instrumental, institutional and regulatory framework.