Public-Private Interaction and the Productivity of Pharmaceutical Research

We examine the impact of publicly funded biomedical research on the in-house research of the for-profit pharmaceutical industry. Qualitative analysis of the history of the discovery and development of a sample of 21 significant drugs, and a program of interviews with senior managers and scientists reveals a complex and often bidirectional relationship between the public and private sectors of the industry, illustrating the difficulties inherent in estimating the rate of return to public support of basic research. This analysis also highlights the importance for private sector firms of maintaining close connections to the upstream' scientific community, which requires them to make significant investments in doing in-house basic research and adopting appropriate internal incentives and procedures. We measure the extent and nature of this connectedness' using data on coauthorship of scientific papers between pharmaceutical company scientists and publicly funded researchers. These measures are significantly correlated with firms' internal organization, as well as their research performance in drug discovery as measured by important patents per research dollar. The size of the estimated impact of connectedness' to private research productivity implies a substantial return to public investments in basic research.

Formal clusters supporting small firms' internationalization: a case of public–private interaction

Purpose This study aims to explore the role played by a formal cluster initiative in supporting small firms' internationalization processes. Taking a public–private interaction perspective, this study aims to understand interaction mechanisms within an internationalization project implemented by a formal cluster initiative. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a qualitative approach based on a case study of a Swedish formal cluster initiative involved in an internationalization project. The case is analyzed through the industrial marketing and purchasing approach, relying on the Actors–Resources–Activities (ARA) framework. Findings The analysis highlights the role of formal clusters as supporters and “accelerators” of internationalization processes. Based on the ARA framework, the roles of the public and private actors emerge: the cluster plays the role of orchestrator, supporter and financer, while on the businesses' side, participants assumed the role of customers, displaying various degrees of interest and commitment and giving rise to a leader–follower pattern. Activities occurred at multiple levels, interorganizational, intraproject, interprojects, through different timings and typologies. The main resources at stake were the combination of knowledge, complementary capabilities and financial incentives. Originality/value This empirical study provides novel empirical evidence and theoretical development over the phenomenon of formal clusters. This study contributes to the current debate on public–private interaction mechanisms and to the upgrading and circulation of international business knowledge

Flood-Resilient Communities: How We Can Encourage Adaptive Behaviour Through Smart Tools in Public-Private Interaction

To achieve a more flood-resilient society, it is essential to involve citizens. Therefore, new instruments, such as tailor-made advice for homeowners, are being developed to inform homeowners about adaptive strategies in building to motivate them to implement these measures. This article evaluates if public–private interactions, such as tailored advice, change risk behaviour and therefore increase flood resilience among homeowners. The article conducted semi-structured interviews with homeowners who had received advice as well as involved experts in two case study regions in Europe: Flanders in Belgium and Vorarlberg in Austria. The results show how the tailored advice helps homeowners who are already aware of flood risks and provides them with answers on how to adapt a house. However, the tool seems to lack the ability to inform and "recruit" new groups of homeowners who are not as familiar with flood risks. As such, this article concludes that this initiative has a relatively low impact in raising flood risk awareness among homeowners but may be more successful in serving as a tool that suggests tailored property-level flood risk adaptation measures for those who are already aware. Alternatively, more automated tailored information systems might be more efficient for unaware homeowners

The Interdependence of Private and Public Interests

The predominant focus in research on organizations is either on private or public institutions without consistent consideration of their interdependencies. The emphasis in scholarship on private or public interests has strengthened as disciplinary and professional knowledge has deepened: management scholars, for example, tend to consider the corporation as the unit of analysis, while scholars of public policy often analyze governmental, multilateral, community and non-profit organizations. This article advocates a partial merging of these research agendas on the grounds that private and public interests cannot be fully understood if they are conceived independently. We review three major areas of activity today in which public and private interests interact in complex ways, and maintain that current theories of organization science can be deployed to understand better these interactions. We also suggest that theories of public-private interaction also require development and describe a concept called "global sustainable value creation," which may be used to identify organizational and institutional configurations and strategies conducive to worldwide, intertemporal efficiency and value creation. We conclude that scholarship on organizations would advance if private-public interactions were evaluated by the criterion of global sustainable value creation.

The Interdependence of Private and Public Interests

The predominant focus in research on organizations is either on private or public institutions without consistent consideration of their interdependencies. The emphasis in scholarship on private or public interests has strengthened as disciplinary and professional knowledge has deepened: management scholars, for example, tend to consider the corporation as the unit of analysis, while scholars of public policy in government, public health, social science and education often analyze governmental, multilateral, community and non-profit organizations. This article advocates a partial merging of these research agendas on the grounds that private and public interests cannot be fully understood if they are conceived independently. We review three major areas of activity today in which public and private interests interact in complex ways, and maintain that current theories of organization science can be deployed to understand better these interactions. We also suggest that theories of public-private interaction also require development and describe a concept called "global sustainable value creation," which may be used to identify organizational and institutional configurations and strategies conducive to worldwide, intertemporal efficiency and value creation. We conclude that scholarship on organizations would advance if private-public interactions were evaluated by the criterion of global sustainable value creation.

An Approach to the Diagnosis, Treatment and Referral of Tuberculosis Patients: The Family Practitioners\' Role

The family practitioner in private practice is a key role player within the primary health care system and should play a bigger role in national tuberculosis (TB) control. TB training at medical undergraduate level is often not adequate and continuous medical education is necessary to develop capacity among private family practitioners. The Department of Health should also encourage the involvement of especially the private family practitioners in district TB control, which is a long overdue public-private interaction. This article discusses the role of the family practitioner to better diagnose, treat and refer tuberculosis patients. South African Journal of Family Practice Vol. 50 (4) 2008: pp.44-5

Actor roles and public–private interaction in transitioning networks: the case of geofencing for urban freight transport in Sweden

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate actor roles and public–private interactions in networks. Role dynamics are explored in two settings: thecurrent development network and the future implementation network to which actors are transitioning.Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on the industrial marketing and purchasing approach to business markets and uses aqualitative methodology. A case study of a network developing geofencing applications in the context of sustainable transport was used. The mainsource of data was interviews with 26 respondents from public and private organizations.Findings – Roles in development and implementation of geofencing are identified, where private and public actors may take on one or several rolesin the developing setting. When transitioning to the implementation setting, the expectations of public actors vary and there is ambiguity over theirroles, which range from active to inactive. This detailed empirical case study shows the complexity of multi-actor involvement when developingdigital technology for the transport system.Research limitations/implications – The study highlights the transition from firm-centric innovation to network-centric innovation and itsimplications on actor roles.Practical implications – Organizations participating in public–private innovation networks need to be aware of the multiple roles publicorganizations play and the complexities they face.Originality/value – The paper explores role dynamics within and between the development and implementation settings of geofencing. Within thecurrent development setting, roles are identified at different organizational levels with limited change in role dynamics. When transitioning to a newsetting, actors’ role dynamics may range from “limited” to “path-breaking.” In future settings, actors enter and exit networks and their roles maychange dramaticall

Interest Groups in a Multi-level Polity: The Impact of European Integration on National Systems

institutionalisation; Europeanization; multilevel governance; Nation-state