M.Phil. (Information Management) / The purpose of this study was to establish what the current situation is within the South African pharmaceuticals industry's competitive intelligence (CI) capacity. For a developing country such as South Africa, its political history and newly acquired democracy clearly make it vulnerable to the competitiveness of globalisation. South Africa faces a massive challenge to implement quality social and economic policies to redress the wrongs of the past. In so doing, it continues to disrupt natural market forces through legislation and policies. It has set a goal of optimal growth by 2018 for the pharmaceutical industry. Despite government s promotion of research and the funding of certain aspects of the industry, to date the strategy seems to have failed. The question can therefore be asked whether a legal and ethical business tool such as CI assist in the industry s defence against competitive markets and whether senior management can make use of CI s capacity to help with strategic planning, thereby enhancing decision-making. The findings of the study confirmed that CI activity takes place in the pharmaceutical industry. The study is mainly descriptive. A questionnaire survey methodology was used. Questionnaires were administered electronically to senior managers in the industry. The majority of the respondents were of the opinion that a culture of information sharing and an environment of collaboration on competitive issues existed in their companies. Furthermore, they endorsed the fact that CI generates profit. Respondents confirmed that CI is used on a continuous basis in strategic decision-making and that company strategies are being used to manage competitors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:7831 |
| Date | 09 December 2013 |
| Creators | Fatti, Anna Clare |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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