The Pharmaceutical Industry is important both socially and economically; however, the market structure and conduct which distinguishes it have brought it under the critical eye of both the regulatory authorities and the public. This thesis describes the market structure and conduct of the industry beginning with an historical description of its development and the market theories behind it. It is from these theories that a number of characteristics and behavioural traits have been identified as contrary to the interests of society. As an oligopolistic multinational the pharmaceutical industry has been identified with high prices and profits, a lack of price competition and heavy product differentiation leading to high concentration ratios. Consumer exploitation is possible via these continuously high prices and the possibilities of ineffective, unsafe and poor quality pharmaceuticals. These outcomes emerge from the distinct organisation of various aspects of the industry, viz. research and development, promotional activities, pricing and profits, which are examined. Concerns over possible consumer exploitation have led governments throughout the world to impose increasingly stringent regulations on all of these aspects. Such regulations have significantly changed the market structure and conduct of the industry world-wide. Having established the market structure of the industry the thesis continues with an in-depth look at brand loyalty. Analysis was conducted on the strength of brand loyalty in the face of generic competition and the attitude of doctors to company promotional material. While brand loyalty continues to have an impact on prescribing its strength appears to be diminishing. The market structure and conduct of the pharmaceutical industry is dynamic, with the present industrial climate increasingly competitive for all those concerned. Nevertheless, while the future of the industry will be difficult, evidence of its previous flexibility and strength suggests it will adapt and will continue to be successful.

No description available.

by Tsang Kin Ming, Frederick. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Bibliography: leaves 55-57.

Marketing channels have traditionally been examined as commercial conduits the sale objective of which was to facilitate the flow of goods from producer to consumer. This approach emphasized functional and structural aspects of the channel and was primarily concerned with the efficiency of the distribution system. During the last two decades, marketing channels have increasingly been viewed as social systems affected by the behavioural dimensions of power, conflict, roles and communication. The rapid growth of vertical marketing systems with greater authority and interdependence between channel members, have stimulated interest in this field. Nevertheless, research has been limited and characterized by methodological problems and conceptual differences about the definitions of behavioural variables and their relationships. Some attempts have been made to develop an integrated framework within which to conduct research into channel relationships, but the validity and relaibility of these models has not been tested. This research project examined the relationship between the sources of conflict and stages in the conflict process. The sources of conflict were subdivided into attitudinal and structural categories, the latter being concerned with goal differences, the desire for autonomy in the face of interdependence and competition for scarce resources. The conflict process model adopted by the author assumes the existence of stages of latency, feeling, perception, manifestation and aftermath in each conflict episode. The first four were treated as separate behavioural states for which different levels of conflict intensity were measured. In order to provide greater explanatory power to the results of the analysis, the perceptions of two respondent groups were identified, namely the leader group, consisting of channel members responsible for the overall strategic interests of the channel, and the affected group, consisting of channel members who had been adversly affected by the activities of their partners in the channel dyad. In addition, respondents were asked to identify separately, their perceptions of the macro and micro levels of conflict in the four conflict states. The marketing channel for prescription medicines was selected for the study. The focal dyad consisted of retail pharmacy managers and doctors with single respondent perceptual measures being obtained from the retail pharmacy managers. A mail survey of all the retail pharmacy managers in South Africa, South West Africa/Namibia, and the independent homelands conducted in July 1987 resulted in a 40% response rate (1031 returns). Tests indicated statistically significant differences between the perceptual measures representing the sources and stages of conflict, the macro and micro levels of the stages of conflict and between the leader and the non-leader groups and the affected and non-affected groups. A sequential hierarchy in the level of conflict measured in the behavioural states was indicated, with decreasing levels of conflict being identified in states of latency, perception, feeling and manifestations, respectively. An analysis of the results revealed that attitudinal sources of conflict were more important that structural sources in measures of perceptions, feelings and manifestations of conflict behaviour. In the latent conflict state, structural sources assumed greater importance than attitudinal sources. In most of the measures, the sources of conflict were more correlated with perceptions of conflict at the macro level than the micro level. The exception was manifest conflict for which micro conflict levels were more important. The major sources of conflict were differences in perceptions, differences in goals and the lack of autonomy. The leader group indicated a particular concern for attitudinal factors, particularly communication difficulties. The affected group, whilst identifying attitudinal factors as being the most important, was especially concerned with their lack of autonomy from the doctor, rather than the competition for scarce resources which could have been expected. An overall assessment of the level of conflict between retail pharmacy managers and doctors indicated that the channel dyad was relatively free from conflict. Relationships were characterized by a degree of satisfaction, some degree of harmony and little evidence of conflict behaviour.

The introductory part of the diploma thesis deals with the concept of health and the factors that influence it. The aim is to grasp the effect of socioeconomic status on the health and to analyze complementary and alternative medicines. The specificity of the health market, the expenditures on the health service, subjects which finance a health care, the state health policy focusing on drug policy and pharmacoeconomic are remarked. The paper also refers to the history of drugs and medicines, their consumption and development in conjunction with pharmacoeconomic. Marketing mix in terms of pharmacy describes the product (i.e. a drug) and its life cycle, the price and price control in the Czech Republic, distribution and promotion associated with advertising. The practical part of the master's thesis specifically shows marketing, innovation, science and research in pharmacy. The examples illustrate the corruption problems and difficulty of fighting against them. The information about the two large pharmaceutical or medical manufacturers are summarized at the end of this thesis.

The effects of experience and expertise on managers' search for information while screening new product concepts were investigated using a computer interactive screening simulation. Relationships between respondents' attributions about product success and failure, their judgments of the diagnosticity (predictive usefulness) of different types of information, and information search were also investigated. Sixty-two respondents from the microcomputer software industry and the pharmaceutical industry were involved in the study. They searched for information about three new product concepts, then evaluated the three concepts. The three concepts were designed to vary the decision context--one concept had predominantly favorable attributes, one had predominantly unfavorable attributes, and one was mixed. The study showed that experience and expertise were related but distinct constructs which could have differing effects on information search and on concept evaluation. Under conditions of favorable and mixed attributes, increased expertise and experience led to less information search. Expertise was related to spending less time in search, while experience was related to spending more time searching for information. Both constructs were related to managers' perceptions of information diagnosticity. Both constructs were also related to the cutoffs used when screening new product concepts, though the relationships depended on the criteria for screening as well as the respondent's industry. Expertise was related to the evaluation of the new product concepts, while experience was not. / Ph. D.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: New products are indispensable to the growth of the modem business enterprise. Increased global and local competition, better informed consumers, rapidly changing technology and the short life span of products are typical of the reasons why it is necessary to develop new products. Traditionally new product development took place in accordance with a rigid new product development process where a next phase was dependent on the completion of preceding phases. The increased pressure to produce new products in shorter time spans has led to the development and application of less streamlined and rigid processes for the development of new products. The pharmaceutical industry has certain unique characteristics important for new product development. It spends more than five times than the average of all industries on research and development. New product development in the pharmaceutical industry largely depends on the discovery of new clinical entities and the development process is furthermore also highly regulated by governments. The focus of product evaluation in the pharmaceutical industry has also undergone a major shift. Traditionally the industry dealt with diseases which were defined broadly and as such the focus was on diseases and not individuals. The result was that consumer acceptance was virtually never evaluated. The shift is now to consumer acceptance because consumers become increasingly better informed and take part in decisions regarding their health and medical care. A further reason for the consumer focus lies in the genetic understanding of patients and this enable pharmaceutical companies to segment patients on the basis of pharmaco-genomic descriptions. The objectives of the study are twofold. In the first instance, the study assesses whether marketing practitioners in the South African pharmaceutical industry agree with the fundamental principles of new product development which are identified in academic literature. The responses from marketing personnel were obtained and analysed to establish their beliefs regarding new product development. The fundamental principles of new product development which form the focus of this study, were those that Calantone, Di Benedetto and Haggblom (1995) used in their research. The second objective of the study is to compare the findings in respect of the South African pharmaceutical industry with those of the study undertaken by Calantone, Di Benedetto and Haggblom in 1995. The purpose of the study is to establish whether the new product development principles taught in marketing management courses are relevant for the pharmaceutical industry. The method of investigation was divided into two sections, i.e. a literature overview and an empirical study. The literature study commenced with research on new product development in the South African Pharmaceutical Industry and other parts of the world. The Calantone, Di Benedetto and Haggblom (1995) questionnaire was also used in this study for data collection. The 91 pharmaceutical companies listed in Volume 34 of the 1999 MIMS Desk formed the population of the study. After contacting these companies a more accurate list was set up. After taking into account all the mergers that took place, 65 companies eventually constituted the population. Twenty nine of the questionnaires sent were returned and could be used. This represents a response rate of 44.6%. The organisations involved were responsible for 69.4% of the annual turnover of the total pharmaceutical industry in 1998 and their responses could therefore be regarded as representative of the pharmaceutical industry of South Africa. The questionnaire attended to the following principles of new product development: • Product innovation • New product development and launch tasks • Product diffusion • Interface between marketing, research and development • Organisational issues The information collected in respect of each pharmaceutical company was the following: • Annual turnover • Number of products manufactured and marketed • Number of employees • Number of new products launched during the past five years The findings of this study indicate that marketing staff in the South African pharmaceutical industry strongly agreed with those fundamental principles of new product development which were identified in academic literature. There was also a significant correlation between this study and the study undertaken by Calantone, Di Benedetto and Haggblom with respect to the percentage agreement on the various statements. It may thus be concluded that new product development principles taught in marketing managing courses are relevant for and are applied by marketing staff in the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nuwe produkte is onontbeerlik vir die groei van die moderne sake-onderneming. 'n Toename in globale en lokale mededinging, beter ingeligte verbruikers, snel veranderende tegnologie en die kort lewensduur van produkte is tipies van die redes waarom dit belangrik is om nuwe produkte te ontwikkel. Tradisioneel het nuwe produk ontwikkeling volgens 'n rigiede nuwe produk ontwikkelingsproses plaasgevind waar 'n volgende fase afhanklik was van die voltooiing van voorafgaande fases. Die verhoogde druk om nuwe produkte in korter tye te vervaardig het tot die ontwikkeling en toepassing van minder stroombelynde en rigiede prosesse vir die ontwikkeling van nuwe produkte gelei. Die farmaseutiese bedryf het sekere unieke eienskappe wat belangrik is vir nuwe produk ontwikkeling. Die farmaseutiese bedryf bestee meer as vyfkeer die gemiddelde van alle bedrywe op navorsing en ontwikkeling. Nuwe produk ontwikkeling in die farmaseutiese bedryf is grootliks afhanklik van die ontdekking van nuwe kliniese entiteite en die ontwikkelingsproses word verder ook intensief gereguleer deur regerings. Die fokus van produkbeoordeling in die farmaseutiese bedryf het ook 'n verskuiwing ondergaan. Tradisioneel het die bedryf gehandel met siektes wat breed omskryf is en die fokus as sulks was op siektes en nie op individue nie. Die gevolg was dat verbruikersaanvaarding feitlik nooit beoordeel was nie. Die verskuiwing is nou na verbruikersaanvaarding omdat verbruikers toenemend beter ingelig word en deelneem aan besluite wat hulle gesondheid en mediese sorg raak. 'n Verdere rede vir die verbruikerfokus is daarin geleë dat pasiënte nou geneties verstaan kan word en dit maak vir farmaseutiese maatskappye moontlik om pasiënte op 'n farmakologies-genomiese basis te segmenteer. Die doelstellings van die studie is tweeledig. In die eerste instansie beoordeel die studie of bemarkingspersoneel werksaam in die die Suid-Afrikaanse farmaseutiese bedryf, saamstem met die fundamentele beginsels ten opsigte van nuwe produk ontwikkeling wat in die akademiese literatuur geïdentifiseer is. Die response van bemarkingpersoneel is verkry en ontleed om hulle oortuigings ten opsigte van nuwe produk ontwikkeling vas te stel. Die fundamentele beginsels van nuwe produk ontwikkeling wat die fokus van hierdie studie vorm, is dié wat Calantone, Di Benedetto en Haggblom (1995) in hulle navorsing gebruik het. Die tweede doelstelling van die studie is om die bevindings ten opsigte van die Suid-Afrikaanse farmaseutiese bedryf te vergelyk met dié van die studie onderneem deur Calantone, Di Benedetto en Haggblom in 1995. Die doel van die studie is om vas te stel of die nuwe produk ontwikkeling beginsels wat in bemarkingsbestuurkursusse onderrig word, relevant is vir die farmaseutiese bedryf. Die metode van ondersoek is onderverdeel in twee gedeeltes, naamlik 'n literatuuroorsig en 'n empiriese studie. Die literatuurstudie het begin met navorsing oor nuwe produk ontwikkeling in die Suid-Afrikaanse farmaseutiese bedryf en ander wêrelddele. Die Calantone, Di Benedetto en Haggblom (1995) vraelys is ook in hierdie studie vir die insameling van data gebruik. Die 91 farmaseutiese firmas wat in Volume 34 van die 1999 MIMS Desk gelys is, het die populasie van die studie gevorm. Na gesprekke met hierdie firmas en nadat alle samesmeltings in ag geneem is, is 'n meer akkurate lys opgestel en het die populasie uiteindelik uit 65 firmas bestaan. Nege en twintig van die vraelyste wat terugontvang is kon gebruik word. Hierdie verteenwoordig 'n responskoers van 44.6%. Die organisasies wat gereageer het was verantwoordelik vir 69.4% van die jaarlikse omset van die totale farmaseutiese bedryf in 1968 en die responses sou dus as verteenwoordigend van die farmaseutiese bedryf in Suid-Afrika beskou kon word. Die vraelys het aandag aan die volgende beginsels van nuweprodukontwikkeling gegee: • Nuweproduk ontwikkeling en loodstake • Produkdiffusie • Koppelvlakke tussen bemarking, navorsing en ontwikkeling • Organisatoriese kwessies Die inligting wat ten opsigte van elke farmaseutiese firma ingesamel is, is die volgende: • Jaarlikse omset • Aantal produkte vervaardig en bemark • Aantal werknemers • Aantal nuwe produkte wat gedurende die afgelope vyf jaar geloods is. Die bevindings van hierdie studie toon aan dat die bemarkingspersoneel in die Suid-Afrikaanse farmaseutiese bedryf sterk saamstem ten opsigte van die beginsels van nuwe produk ontwikkeling wat in die akademiese literatuur geïdentifiseer is. Daar bestaan ook 'n betekenisvolle korrelasie tussen hierdie studie en die Calantone, Di Benedetto en Haggblom studie ten opsigte van die persentasie wat saamgestem word oor die verskillende stellings. Die gevolgtrekking kan dus gemaak word dat die nuwe produk beginsels wat in bemarkingskursusse aangebied word, relevant is vir en toegepas word deur bemarkingspersoneel in die farmaseutiese bedryf in Suid- Afrika.

Liu Shuo. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-126). / Abstracts and questionnaires in English and Chinese. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Chinese Pharmaceutical Industry --- p.5 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Distributors / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Suppliers´ؤPharmaceutical Manufacturers / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Retailers / Chapter 1.1.4 --- The Public Bidding for Medicines / Chapter 1.2 --- Methodology --- p.18 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Literature Review / Chapter 2.1 --- The Definition of Guanxi --- p.21 / Chapter 2.2 --- Guanxi and Social Capital --- p.23 / Chapter 2.3 --- Guanxi in Chinese Business Domain --- p.29 / Chapter 2.4 --- Guanxi Practice --- p.33 / Chapter 2.5 --- Theoretical Framework --- p.36 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Pre-existing Personal Relations / Chapter 3.1 --- Case Selection --- p.42 / Chapter 3.2 --- Functions of Pre-existing Ties --- p.43 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Preparation of Guanxi Establishment一Information Gathering / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Pre-existing Ties and Information Gathering / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Establish Familiarity / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Pre-existing Ties and Familiarity Establishment / Chapter 3.2.5 --- Limitation of Pre-existing Ties' Effect / Chapter 3.2.6 --- Pre-existing Ties and Guanxi Cultivation / Chapter 3.3 --- Summary --- p.70 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Guanxi Cultivation / Chapter 4.1 --- Guanxi Practice and Economic Performance --- p.72 / Chapter 4.2 --- Regulations and Prevalence of Guanxi Practice --- p.74 / Chapter 4.3 --- Guanxi Cultivation´ؤChoose Proper Guanxi Practice --- p.76 / Chapter 4.4 --- The Importance of Renqing --- p.78 / Chapter 4.5 --- Socio-economic Environment Change and Guanxi Practice Adjustments --- p.81 / Chapter 4.6 --- Summary --- p.83 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Quantitative Analysis / Chapter 5.1 --- Hypotheses --- p.86 / Chapter 5.2 --- Conceptualization and Operationalization of Variables --- p.88 / Chapter 5.3 --- Methods --- p.91 / Chapter 5.4 --- Results --- p.92 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Pharmaceutical Distributors' Organizational Performance / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Pharmaceutical Salespersons' Individual Performance / Chapter 5.5 --- Summary --- p.103 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusion and Discussion / Chapter 6.1 --- The Study --- p.104 / Chapter 6.2 --- Summary of Findings --- p.105 / Chapter 6.3 --- Theoretical Implications --- p.118 / Chapter 6.4 --- Practical Implications --- p.110 / Chapter 6.5 --- Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research --- p.111 / Appendix I Interview Schedule --- p.113 / Appendix II Sample of Questionnaire --- p.115 / Bibliography --- p.120

by Ma Pui Yin, Flora. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 62). / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION / The Company Background --- p.1 / The Appeal of PRC --- p.3 / Scope and Objectives --- p.5 / Structure of the Paper --- p.5 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY / Michael Porter's Model --- p.7 / Evaluation of Porter's Model --- p.8 / Lessons from Case Studies --- p.14 / Chapter III. --- INDUSTRY ANALYSIS / Intensity of Rivalry Among Existing Competitors --- p.15 / Threat of New Entrants --- p.21 / Threat of Substitutes --- p.32 / Bargaining Power of Buyers --- p.33 / Bargaining Power of Suppliers --- p.35 / Summary --- p.35 / Chapter IV. --- COMPETITIVE STRATEGY / Entry Strategy --- p.38 / Portfolio Strategy --- p.41 / Targeting Strategy --- p.44 / Alliance Strategy --- p.46 / Chapter V. --- CONCLUSION --- p.49 / APPENDIX --- p.53 / REFERENCES --- p.62

by Cheung Chi-kong, Chu Hok-keung, Ting Wai-tong. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990. / Bibliography: leaf 83. / Chapter I. --- BACKGROUND --- p.1 / Introduction --- p.1 / The Origin of Chinese Medicine --- p.2 / A Definition of Chinese Medicine --- p.5 / A Survey --- p.6 / Chapter II. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.7 / Chapter III. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.14 / Data Sources --- p.14 / Sample Design --- p.15 / Data Processing --- p.16 / Chapter IV. --- FINDINGS FROM THE STUDY --- p.17 / Chinese Herbal Drugs --- p.17 / Chinese Health Foods --- p.23 / Further Analysis --- p.29 / Chapter V. --- SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.37 / Summary --- p.37 / Chinese Herbal Drugs : Recommendations --- p.39 / Chinese Health Foods : Recommendations --- p.52 / APPENDIX --- p.65 / Profiles of Respondents --- p.65 / Questionnaire (English/Chinese Version) --- p.68 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.83