Transfer pricing—A survey using discriminant analysis

There is a considerable literature on transfer pricing. One strand of this literature is empirical and is concerned with the extent to which companies use the various transfer pricing methods. The other strand is strongly normative being directed to devising transfer pricing methods and defining the circumstances under which it is appropriate to use them. This study attempts to address both these questions by using discriminant analysis methods to predict which approach a company will use to determine transfer prices given its weightings of certain ‘determinants’ which theory suggests should be relevant to the decision. Domestic and international transfer pricing are considered separately. Discriminant analysis is shown to be quite successful in predicting the transfer pricing systems adopted by the UK companies surveyed.