Influence of the Internet Use on Firm Performance. An Application to the Pharmaceutical Distribution Industry in Spain

Researchers have concerned about the link between Information Technology investment and performance. Indicators like productivity, profitability and market share could be improved by these tools. Among these tools, firms can now use Internet technologies for competitive purposes but, until now, their real effects are unclear. In this paper we try to provide some evidence about the impact of the Internet on competitive advantage in a Western European Industry. Also, we try to explain why the use of the Internet not always lead to competitive improvements in modern firms

The Global Pharmaceutical Industry, 2004

This teaching case looks at the development of the ethical pharmaceutical industry. The various forces affecting the discovery, development, production, distribution and marketing of prescription drugs are discussed in terms of their origins and recent developments. Readers are then invited to consider trends for the future.Ethical pharmaceuticals, industry analysis, five forces

Information Technology and Competitive Advantage: The Role of the Ownership Structure

This paper analyses the relationship between information technology use (IT) and competitive advantage. Previous empirical research shows that IT improves competitive advantage when it acts together with some human or managerial resources of an intangible nature. In this work we propose a new complementary resource to IT: democratic ownership structure. We empirically analyse whether ownership structure and IT have a positive, combined impact on competitive advantage. Results show that ownership structure is a key element in explaining competitive advantage differences. Nonetheless, we did not find any IT-ownership structure complementary effect

Catalan competitiveness: Science and business

Science has been shown to be an important driver of economic growth and performance. In this chapter we take a careful look at a key ingredient of this driver for Catalonia: the link between science and business. We argue that the Catalan innovation system faces three important challenges in order to better connect science to business: 1) the need for a sufficient supply of high quality science; 2) the need for a sufficient demand for science by companies, and 3) the ability to connect science and business, i.e., science needs different channels to connect with business and requires coordinated efforts between the different players in the innovation system. We find that the science landscape at Catalan (Spanish) scientific institutions has improved considerably in the last decade. Demand for science by Catalan firms, on the contrary, is still very weak. Nevertheless, we do find that industry and universities use a large variety of channels for knowledge interaction. In addition, we show that the three large Catalan universities have very different profiles in their interactions with industry. However, our analysis does indicate that there is currently a lack of basic information about the Catalan innovation system to help inform and direct such important policy measures. Some coordination on recording this information systematically would improve matters considerably.Competitiveness; Catalonia; Science; Business;

Global Competitiveness in Pharmaceuticals: A European Perspective

The report examines the competitive position of the European pharmaceutical companies and industries, and compares them with the pharmaceutical companies and industries in other parts of the world, particularly the US. Over the last two decades, the industry has experienced some important structural changes, mainly driven by technological and institutional shocks that have affected all the stages of its value chain. In turn, this has led to changes in firms' organisation and in market structure, within domestic markets, regionally, and globally. The main finding of the report is that the European industry has indeed been losing competitiveness as compared to the USA, although there are large differences and trends across European countries. As a whole, Europe is lagging behind in its ability to generate, organise, and sustain innovation processes that are increasingly expensive and organisationally complex. In fact, one conclusion of the report is that the relative position of the US as a locus of innovation in pharmaceuticals has increased over the past decade compared to Europe. All in all, the report claims that the competitiveness of the European pharmaceutical industry is negatively affected by the persistence of insufficient degrees of competition and institutional integration, still centred on domestic and fragmented health care and research systems. Four sets of variables have been found to be relevant as sources of competitiveness and growth in pharmaceuticals: 1) The size and the structure of the biomedical education and research systems; 2) Some basic institutions governing labor markets for skilled researchers and managers, as well as corporate governance and finance; 3) Intellectual property rights and patent law; 4) The institutional settings in the regulation of health care systems and, moreover, the nature and intensity of competition on the final market. The data analysed in this report come from OECD, Eurostat, the European Patent Office, IMS Health and PHID (PHarmaceutical Industry Database) at the University of Siena

Innovation and job creation. A sustainable relation?

This study compares the employment growth patterns of innovative and non-innovative firms focusing on whether there are systematic differences in the persistence of the jobs created. Using data from a unique longitudinal dataset of 3,300 Spanish firms over the years 2002-2009, obtained by matching different waves of the "Encuesta sobre Innovación en las Empresas españolas” and adopting a semiparametric quantile regression approach, we examine employment serial correlation

Intra-alliance performance, control rights, and today's split of tomorrow's value

Although the differential benefits reaped by individual partners are a major determinant of the performance impact of strategic alliances, previous analysis has faced methodological challenges. In response we propose a measure for relative value appropriation and an explicit theoretical framework for predicting its variation in terms of relative bargaining position. With a sample of 180 biotechnology R&D alliances, we are thus able to explain variation in value appropriation across partner types as well as individual partners of each type.Alliance performance; strategic alliances; value appropriation; bargaining position; factor markets;

Competition and Innovation: ICT- and non-ICT-enabled Product and Process Innovations

The reason for contradictory predictions of the models studying the impact of competi¬tion on innovation is the varying assumptions with respect to competition or innovation type. Thus, we study how the impact of competition changes with different types of innova¬tive Output. In particular, we distinguish between non-ICT - and ICT-enabled product and process innovations. To allow for such flexibility, we apply Bayesian inference techniques and use direct measures of innovative that control for the heterogeneity of innovation Output. Our analysis provides evidence that supports the hypothesis that the effect of market com¬petition on innovation is not alike for all types of innovation. We observe an inverse U-shape relationship between competition and non-ICT-enabled and a clear U-shape dependency for ICT-enabled innovations. However, the results become considerably weaker, once industry effects are taken into account. Thus, although the impact of competition on innovation varies with the type of innovation, other factors seem to have a stronger impact on the incentives to innovate.Competition, innovation, Information and communication technologies

Competition and Innovation: ICT- and non-ICT-enabled Product and Process Innovations

The reason for contradictory predictions of the models studying the impact of competi¬tion on innovation is the varying assumptions with respect to competition or innovation type. Thus, we study how the impact of competition changes with different types of innova¬tive Output. In particular, we distinguish between non-ICT - and ICT-enabled product and process innovations. To allow for such flexibility, we apply Bayesian inference techniques and use direct measures of innovative that control for the heterogeneity of innovation Output. Our analysis provides evidence that supports the hypothesis that the effect of market com¬petition on innovation is not alike for all types of innovation. We observe an inverse U-shape relationship between competition and non-ICT-enabled and a clear U-shape dependency for ICT-enabled innovations. However, the results become considerably weaker, once industry effects are taken into account. Thus, although the impact of competition on innovation varies with the type of innovation, other factors seem to have a stronger impact on the incentives to innovate.Competition, innovation, Information and communication technologies