The role of export clusters in export performance of SMEs : the case of Iranian energy industry

Purpose: This study was carried out with the aim of exploring the effects of export clusters formation on export performance of SMEs in Iranian energy industry.  Methodology/Approach: The study was undertaken through having three case studies, each on a different export cluster currently active within Iranian energy industry. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with both managers and members of each export cluster as well as study of their archival documents.   Findings: The results confirmed that all three export clusters managed to successfully identify their members’ needs and undertook certain measures within their own authority and control, to mitigate these risks. Moreover, the secondary data showed positive growth rate of export level after the establishment of these export clusters. Interestingly, the strong suits of all three export clusters were mainly related to communication and relationship aspects. These three factors were: ability to create Informal Network within members, Public Relations and Training/Consultation.   Research Limitation/implication: This study was limited to the export clusters in Iranian energy industry, and on a cross-sectional time horizon basis. It therefore cannot be generalized to all industries and we might witness certain changes in findings if the study is undertaken at different point in time. However, the study shed light on certain important aspects such as nature of relationships within the members of each cluster, the role of trust management and social power as well as the need to place more focus on SMEs in export clusters.  Originality/Value of paper: Even though there are recently many studies on the concept of export clusters and their positive impacts on the growth in export of various countries throughout the world; but so far, there had been no similar study undertaken with a focus on Iran and not enough empirical evidence had previously been provided on export clusters performance in a developing country

Linkage between organisational innovation capability, product platform development and performance : The case of pharmaceutical small and medium enterprises in Iran

This study examines the relationship between organisational innovation capability, product platform development and performance in pharmaceutical small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Iran, an area which has remained unexplored. The intensive literature review has led us to suggest an empirically tested conceptual model consisting of innovation capability, product platform and performance as well as factors/enablers shaping innovation capability in the pharmaceutical firms. Combinations of quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. Eight Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) companies that produce about 80% of local manufactured API were studied. The results show that the Iranian firms have chosen an imitative strategy in technology and product development. The common pattern for technology sourcing was external. However, although all companies purchased technologies from well-known suppliers, they demonstrated significant differences in the variety of products produced and performance. The failure firms lacked sound absorptive capability. Furthermore, the firms with high performance used a combination of internal and external sources for technology and product development. The empirical analysis showed a positive relationship between innovation capabilities, technology platform, product platform and performance. The pre-requisite to this relationship was found to be effective innovation management and strength/abilities in strategy, organisational structure, learning, processes and linkage (relationship) with the customers, suppliers and alliances

Structuring a Pharmaceutical Parent Company Organization: A Value-Based Approach, The Case of TPICO: Structuring a pharmaceutical parent company organization

Todays, the parent company has a great role in managing and monitoring subsidiaries and companies in promoting their industrial activities. But, the main problem for pharmaceutical parent companies is the lack of clarity and confusion of responsibilities between units. Successful parenting needs to create the element of 'fit' between the ways parent operates – parent characteristics – and its businesscharacteristics. However, the main parent characteristic is the parent structure, and restructuring is the main challenge in unstable pharmaceutical market. In fact, the parent strategy should determine how value can be added to every organizational structure and parent structure should be proportionate to its dominant value creation strategy. The value drivers are very different in pharmaceutical industry regarding the fast changing technology. The aim of this study is to explore an appropriate valuecreating structure for the largest pharmaceutical parent company in Iran, Tamin Pharmaceutical Investment Company (TPICO). This study concentrates on the sources of value in this special domain and restructuring the parent company by considering the dominant value-creating strategy and pharmaceutical value drivers

International strategic alliances in the Iranian pharmaceutical industry : an analysis of key success and failure factors

This study aims to identify key success/failure factors in international strategicalliances (ISAs) in the Iranian pharmaceutical industry, an area which has remainedlargely unexamined. The literature review, and an expert panel’s views, led us tostudy 33 success factors. These factors, based upon their importance in strategic andstructural configuration of the alliance formation process, were grouped as contentand process-oriented. A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches wasused for data collection and analysis. The results confirmed that all 33 factors areeffective in alliance success, which is an extension of earlier research. The studyreveals 8 of the most important success factors, and 11 of the most prevalent failurefactors. The findings also showed that six of the eight most important success factorsare process-oriented variables. This confirms that trust, mutual understanding anddeveloping strong inter-organisational relationships are extremely important in thesuccess of alliances in the Iranian Pharmaceutical industry. However, 8 of 11 failurefactors are content-oriented, which means that the failed alliances mainly hadproblems in the alliances’ strategic and structural design. The qualitative studysupports the quantitative results and adds to the high importance of the soft aspect ofthe alliances’ success including: the culture of collaboration, open-mindedness,relationship-building ability, parties’ proper knowledge of each other’s businessculture/working attitudes, and effective communication. Besides, in Iran, the localgovernment and public institutes have significant impact on the success of thealliances. One of the more significant findings that emerged from this study is that‘success’ can mean different things to different people/partners, so success andfailure should be seen from both parties’ perspectives

Linkage between organisational innovation capability, product platform development and performance : The case of pharmaceutical small and medium enterprises in Iran

This study examines the relationship between organisational innovation capability, product platform development and performance in pharmaceutical small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Iran, an area which has remained unexplored. The intensive literature review has led us to suggest an empirically tested conceptual model consisting of innovation capability, product platform and performance as well as factors/enablers shaping innovation capability in the pharmaceutical firms. Combinations of quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data collection and analysis. Eight Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) companies that produce about 80% of local manufactured API were studied. The results show that the Iranian firms have chosen an imitative strategy in technology and product development. The common pattern for technology sourcing was external. However, although all companies purchased technologies from well-known suppliers, they demonstrated significant differences in the variety of products produced and performance. The failure firms lacked sound absorptive capability. Furthermore, the firms with high performance used a combination of internal and external sources for technology and product development. The empirical analysis showed a positive relationship between innovation capabilities, technology platform, product platform and performance. The pre-requisite to this relationship was found to be effective innovation management and strength/abilities in strategy, organisational structure, learning, processes and linkage (relationship) with the customers, suppliers and alliances