AGRAWAL, MADHU; PHD
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY, 1995
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MARKETING (0338); HEALTH SCIENCES, PHARMACY (0572);
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT (0454)
This study presents a theoretical and empirical investigation of the determinants
of global competitive
advantage in the ethical pharmaceutical industry. Two major research questions
investigated in the study
are: (1) Which country factors stimulate or inhibit a nation's pharmaceutical
industry to be globally
innovative? and (2) Which country factors stimulate or inhibit diffusion of
pharmaceutical innovations into
its markets? The motivation for doing the study derives from the growing concern
in the past decade
regarding national competitiveness issues in the new global economy. The global
pharmaceutical
industry is especially suitable for examination of country factors that affect
competitiveness. Two path
models - the Global Innovation Model (GIM) and the Global Diffusion Model (GDM)
were tested using EQS
- a structural equation modeling program on the mainframe. Data was obtained
from secondary sources,
mainly from the Scrip League Tables and United Nations publications. A sample
of twenty-seven
countries was used in the analysis. Besides a review of the literature, talks
with industry experts and
responses from a small-scale industry survey were also used as inputs in the
study design. Several
significant results were obtained. A country's economic, regulatory and market/industry
environments
were found to have significant effects on the ability of the industry to innovate.
Diffusion was found to be
significantly related to a country's environment for innovation. Industrialized
and Developing countries
were found to differ significantly with respect to the effects of various factors
affecting competitiveness of
the pharmaceutical industries in those countries. The study makes several contributions
to the
theoretical, empirical, managerial and public policy literature on global competitiveness;
competitiveness
in the pharmaceutical industry; economic development issues; and global strategic
management issues.
Social
Systems Simulation Group
P.O. Box 6904 San Diego, CA 92166-0904 Roland Werner, Principal Phone/FAX (619) 660-1603 |