The Pharmacia Story of Entrepreneurship and as a Creative Technical University - An Experiment in Innovation, Organizational Break Up and Industrial Renaissance

While innovative technology supply has been the focus of much neo Schumpeterian modeling, few have addressed the critical and more resource demanding commercializing of the same technologies. The result may have been a growth policy focused on the wrong problem. Using competence bloc theory and a firm based macro to macro approach we abandon the assumed linear relation between technology change and economic growth of such models, and demonstrate that lack of local commercialization competences is likely to block growth even though innovative technology supplies are abundant. The break up, reorganization and part withdrawal of Pharmacia from the local Uppsala (in Sweden) economy after a series of international mergers illustrate. Pharmacia has “released” a wealth of technologies in local markets. Local commercialization competence, notably industrially competent financing has, however, not been sufficient to fill in through indigenous entrepreneurship the vacuum left by Pharmacia. Only thanks to foreign investors, attracted by Pharmacia technologies, that have opted to stay for the long term the local Uppsala economy seems to be heading for a successful future. The Pharmacia case also demonstrates the role of advanced firms as “technical universities” and the nature of an experimentally organized economy (EOE) in which business mistakes are a natural learning cost for economic development.Competence Bloc Theory; Commercialization of Innovations; Experimentally Organized Economy; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Pharmaceutical industry

A multidimensional analysis of post-acquisition performance : the case of research and development in the pharmaceutical sector

This thesis provides an additional perspective of the Merger Paradox, namely that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continue to be transacted when historically their results seem to be disappointing overall. The thesis shows that when a theoretically sound basis (related to the Resource Based View and expressed as twelve design principles) is used to design a performance measurement framework, then there is no association between a firm's post-acquisition performance and the scale of a firm's previous acquisitions; the thesis then shows, by contrast, that there is a positive association between firms with an above-average level of past acquisitions (by value) and higher financial performance. This divergence provides both a motive and an ability to continue to undertake M&A, despite a lack of association of acquisitions with longer-term operational performance and very strong evidence of diseconomy of scale in the most crucial business process, for the case examined, which is the research and development (R&D) process in the research-based pharmaceutical sector. Additionally, the thesis examines the relative merits of Return on Sales and Return on Assets as financial metrics of performance, and establishes statistically significant differences in the measurement of performance by these two metrics. The thesis also establishes a contrast between the findings at the level of the firm and at the level of the sector, namely acquisitions considered in aggregate are associated with gains at the sector level, even though this association was not observed when acquisition was considered at the level of the acquiring firm. The thesis provides a new application of Data Envelopment Analysis and establishes a scale efficiency relationship for the pharmaceutical R&D process. A further empirical contribution is the examination of the statistical distribution of acquisitions in the pharmaceutical sector and confirmation of the consistency of that distribution with a power-law

Improving the effectiveness of procurement: Identification and improvement of key determinant factors - The PEPPS Project

Procurement, organisational buying, purchasing, sourcing, strategic sourcing, and more latterly within the public sector, “commissioning”, are all terms used to denote the function of and the responsibility for, procuring materials, supplies, and / or services. Many organisations look to transform their procurement function with varying degrees of success, and this thesis aims to identify what makes procurement effective and how an organisation can successfully transform their procurement function? The questions are addressed through a mixed methods approach, following a predominantly interpretivist position, more specifically tending towards phenomenology. The research is conducted over five phases of activity, and includes a 3-year, longitudinal, action research based intervention within an industrial based company. It was found that the definition of effective procurement was situation specific, although was generically defined as “where the buy-side of the business has achieved a position that is fundamental to the enterprise and drives the achievement of business objectives taking consideration of stakeholder expectations, perceptions and business requirements”. A procurement effectiveness model was created, that had five key dimensions; “Compelling Case”, “Competency”, “Approach”, “Communications”, and “Governance”, and the application of the model proved very successful within the industrial application. The key academic contribution from this research is the development of the procurement effectiveness model, which both builds upon existing research and applies new thinking to the development of a holistic approach to the improvement of procurement. In terms of the contribution to practice, the research provides a bridge between academic and industrial thinking in order to improve the quality of information available to those looking to embark upon a procurement transformation

Blockchain Technology Based Supply Chain Systems and Supply Chain Performance: A Resource-Based View

Blockchain technology (BCT) is set to transform firms’ present ways of managing supply chains. This thesis explores how the efforts by firms to integrate BCT into their supply chain systems and activities, can enable certain supply chain capabilities and subsequently, improve supply chain performance. Using an abductive research approach, qualitative content analyses of 126 cases of firms’ efforts in BCT-based supply chain systems (BCT-SCS) across multiple industries are conducted to identify the BCT-enabled supply chain capabilities and their performance outcomes. Findings reveal that the present BCT-SCS efforts are mainly oriented towards improving the operational-level capabilities namely, information sharing and coordination capabilities rather than strategic-level capabilities namely, integration and collaboration capabilities. The predominant performance outcomes resulting from these capabilities along with the BCT-SCS are quality compliance and improvement, process improvement, flexibility, reduced cost, and reduced process time. However, the performance outcomes vary with industry type, based on the risks that the industry faces. Based on the study’s findings, an integrated framework of research propositions is presented to facilitate future empirical research

Sustainable practices implemented in the supply chain of multinational companies

This master thesis aims to examine the strategies that multinational companies are implementing to become more sustainable in their supply chain, to create more value and be more competitive in the market. Through a qualitative approach, I conducted a comparative case study of three multinational companies that have sustainability as part of their corporate objectives. The findings suggest that even though every multinational company is applying different practices, the main strategy of all is to highly invest in new technologies and innovate their processes to reduce their carbon footprint and switch to a more circular economy. Additionally, companies are also paying attention to the source of their raw materials and how to create final products that can be recycled for future use.Esta tese de mestrado tem como objetivo examinar as estratégias que as empresas multinacionais estão a implementar para se tornarem mais sustentáveis na sua cadeia de suprimentos, para criarem mais valor e serem mais competitivas no mercado. Por meio de uma abordagem qualitativa, realizei um estudo de caso comparativo em três empresas multinacionais que têm a sustentabilidade como parte de seus objetivos corporativos. Os resultados sugerem que, embora cada empresa multinacional esteja a aplicar práticas diferentes, a principal estratégia de todas é investir fortemente em novas tecnologias e inovar os seus processos para reduzir sua pegada de carbono e mudar para uma economia mais circular. Além disso, todas as empresas também estão atentas à origem de suas matérias-primas e a como criar produtos finais que possam ser reciclados para uso futuro

Internationalisation Strategies of Indian Pharmaceutical firms

Abstract In last decade a host of new multinational enterprises have risen from developing countries such as India and China. These new MNEs are dominating global economy and challenging existing paradigms of international business literature. In this context this paper tries to explore whether internationalisation of firms from developing countries can be explained in terms of mainstream theories derived mainly from studies of Western multinational corporations or do these cases present new insights in the explanations that have been offered for latecomer multinationals. With this in mind, the present paper explores patterns and motives for internationalisation by Indian pharmaceutical firms. It focuses on internalisation that is directed towards expansion into foreign markets and accessing new technologies. This paper moves beyond study of export from domestic units and investigates different strategies adopted by Indian firms to internationalise their operations. The evidence presented in this paper shows that Indian pharmaceutical firms are internationalising by acquiring small firms as well as setting up their subsidiaries, in order to access resources, move up value chain and enter new markets. The leading Indian pharmaceutical firms show that high-risk strategy of acquisitions and direct foreign entry can yield rich dividends, provided it is backed up with superior technology savoire-faire in the targeted niches. Thus, this study shows how leading developing country firms can become independent players in oligopolistic industries without major technological assets of their own and proves that internationalisation, a strategy hitherto perceived to be the strategic domain uniquely of Western firms (given resource asymmetries) can be deployed by developed country firms as well.

Framework for Managing an Efficient and Effective Pharmaceutical Supply Chain in Malaysia

The pressure in pharmaceutical sectors in Malaysia is increasing as the country new policy, in regards to medical care, is to standardise the existing Good Manufacturing Practise (GMP) and Good Distribution Practise (GDP) guidelines, disseminate the medical information and evaluate the pharmaceutical products, implement knowledge transfer when it comes to public service. In line with this effort, Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia is investing into efficient implementation of GMP and GDP to assure the impact of drug quality are contemplated. However, it is unclear if all the partners/stakeholders within this process are aware about the appropriate indications and possible limitations. In addition, many organisations uses a wide variety of metrics to measure their performance, typically in two broad categories efficiency and effectiveness to improve its customer service which is crucial in the pharmaceutical industry. Efficiency metrics such as inventory costs, operations cost, and utilisation of resources are broader in scope but not linked to the strategic objectives of the organisations. Effectiveness metrics such as customer satisfaction and total supply chain costs represent significant leap in integration, visibility and alignment with overall supply chain performance. Therefore, main aim of this research are to design and develop an integrated framework involving efficiency, effectiveness, optimisation, and GDP dimensions to support the design of pharmaceutical cold supply chain in Malaysia. In addition, the philosophical approach used in this study and process of developing a supply chain management framework will be justified. Then the potential supply chain frameworks and models available and are widely implemented in the industry will be evaluated. This framework has been developed by integrating six models that are widely implemented by companies in various industry namely, Strategic Fit model to explain the strategic role and objective of the framework, Good Distribution Practise (GDP) model to clarify the supply chain specifications and requirements, Total Quality Management (TQM) and Quality Risk Management to establish all processes that are designed encompass quality assurance and continuous improvements, Supply Chain Network Optimisation model to ensure the optimal distribution pattern has been achieved, and lastly performance indicator model to measure efficiency and effectiveness. The framework has been validated and refined through the feedback received from industry. To conclude, effective GDP implementation in its operations may improve their efficiency, effectiveness and optimisation, and may experience reduction in costs and increase in customer and employee satisfaction

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment in Japan: Case Studies of the Automobile, Finance, and Health Care Industries

Having historically received very little foreign direct investment, Japan has experienced a substantial increase in such inflows in recent years. This paper analyzes the impact of the growing presence of foreign firms on the Japanese economy through detailed case studies on the automobile, finance, and health care industries. The wholesale & retail and the telecommunications sector are also briefly examined. The case studies show that in the sectors considered, foreign firms in one way or another are contributing to a greater degree of competition, are exposing domestic firms to global best practice, and are increasing the range of products and services available in Japan. In many of the sectors, they are also contributing to changes in industry structure and employment practices. The case studies thus illustrate that foreign direct investment - even at its present levels, which, although large by Japanese standards, are still low in international comparison - can be an important catalyst for change and hence help to reinvigorate the Japanese economy.