Acquiring Biopharmaceutical Research: Is Market Approval a Deal Breaker?☆

Biotechnology is used in many different industries, but there is no independent biotechnological industry. In the pharmaceutical industry biotechnology has brought about a dramatic enhancement of innovativeness and a broadening of research and development portfolios. Many biopharmaceutical products are meanwhile routinely being used in medical practice. Many other highly innovative molecules are in the clinical development stage. Cooperation between companies dominates the biopharmaceutical industry. Along the value chain strategic partnering of all kinds is commonplace. Besides the more common options of FIPCO (fully integrated pharmaceutical company) and RIPCO (royalty income based pharmaceutical company) a third model is becoming more and more popular: the virtually integrated pharmaceutical company or VIPCO. The human talent management, investor relations, the management of strategic alliances, licences and patents as well as pre- and post-marketing clinical R & D are important competitive factors in the biopharmaceutical sector.

One of the major functions of marketing strategy is the proper positioning of the company in the sectorial value‐added chain, in order to create the best possible competitive advantage. This process is extremely important, especially for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), since any wrong decision can literally eliminate the company from the market. This paper attempts to analyse and present the strategic positioning process specific to small and medium‐sized biopharmaceutical firms in the UK. After discussing the specific characteristics of the value chain in the biopharmaceuticals sector, the paper presents the research methodology used to collect primary and secondary data. Data analysis leads towards a theoretical model that describes the stages and the factors influencing the strategic positioning of SMEs in the value‐added chain of the biopharmaceuticals sector.

This paper introduces the new Idea Forum at the Journal of Media Economics and provides an overview of the challenges in the movie industry caused by the market entry of subscription-based video on demand (SVOD) providers such as Netflix and Amazon (Prime). Specifically, we focus on the fundamental shift in traditional distributors’ value chains and business models that are threatened by the market entry of global SVOD services. We focus on the need for distributors of filmed entertainment to reinvent their operations in order to stay relevant by leveraging their unique, hard-to-imitate resources. Following the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm framework, we identify four key sources of competitive advantage associated with traditional distributors, namely their ability to (1) accurately assess product quality and forecast performance, (2) exploit B2C markets through sequential distribution system that combines both physical and digital distribution channels, (3) strategically use their push power, and (4) effectively monetize content via elaborate relationship networks with both production studios and exhibitors. We use competitive market analysis to explain how the distributors’ current competitive environment affects these four resources in response to SVOD. Related to each of the four key resources, we discuss key managerial opportunities for distributors aiming to regain and sustain competitive advantage.

This paper focuses on the role played by incubators in supporting new venture creation. We claim that the evolution of incubators’ industry is driven by market changes and by Internet development. We map business incubators into four categories: Business Innovation Centers (BICs), University Business Incubators (UBIs), Independent Private Incubators (IPIs) and Corporate Private Incubators (CPIs). It is argued that the variety of incubating organizations is driven by the evolution of companies’ requirements and needs, which prompts incubators to differentiate their services’ portfolio. The Resource Based View (RBV) is used to illustrate differences - at incubator level - in the resources and competencies offered to new ventures. We distinguish between incubators providing new ventures with their own resources and competencies and those selecting resources and competencies which are external to their value chain and that are eventually transferred to their tenants. The RBV helps new ventures in identifying incubating models that better fit their needs, and incubators in identifying success factors and in strategically positioning themselves. Empirical evidence of competencies, resources and services offered by different typologies of incubators to their tenants is provided through case studies of four Italian incubators.

This chapter examines the oil and gas industry and the efficacy of vertical integration strategies. Using multiple theoretical lenses ranging from the resource-based view, transactions costs, and parenting perspective, the chapter considers different arguments associated with vertical integration. The 2011 breakup of ConocoPhillips and its global value chain helps address the question of which strategy is best – integrated or nonintegrated. We provide several conclusions about the structure of integration and value chains within the oil and gas industry. First, vertical integration based on the physical transfer of products between value chain activities will generate little firm advantage in the form of classical integration benefits, such as control over input quality or speed to market. Second, competing across the industry value chain as a hedge or strategy against industry cyclicality is not theoretically defensible. Third, pure play industry specialists can create value through management focus, agility, and, transparency for investors. Fourth, firms that compete across a wide range of industry value chain activities can create value-adding corporate strategies if they are able to leverage knowledge and assets across different industry sectors.

Drawing on concepts from the resource-based view, the dynamic capabilities school, and competence-base theory, this chapter develops a value chain framework for evaluating and managing resources and capabilities. In common with activity-based value chains, our framework is a method for representing and analyzing the firm, and identifying what may be its optimal configuration. However, as opposed to an activity-based value chain, our approach is specifically designed to help clarify interrelationships between a firm's various assets and capabilities. Thus, it may help researchers and managers alike to analyze to what extent a firm's successes may be attributed to a certain set of resources and capabilities and whether there is scope to further develop them to advance the firm's strategies. Our value chain framework can be used singly or in conjunction with an activity value chain framework, depending on the strategic problem being addressed. However, we suggest that our resource and capabilities value chain will be most useful when determining how a firm's business processes should be funded, what resources and capabilities should make them up, or how these decisions could affect the firm's present organizational structure.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the vertical disintegration of the bank loan origination value chain. This paper conducts a study on the credit information market from the perspective of the bank’s decision to vertically disintegrate the loan origination value chain. The main aim is to identify the relevant drivers of the decision to vertically disintegrate the credit assessment phase in the lending business.Design/methodology/approach– Transaction cost economics and information asymmetry are the typical perspectives of analysis of the vertical scope of business value chains.Findings– This paper argues that in order to capture the drivers underlying the dynamic evolution of the vertical scope of bank loan origination business models, the above perspectives must be combined and integrated further with a resource-based view and the modularity perspective. Combining managerial and financial perspectives, this paper offers an examination of the drivers of vertical disintegration in the lending value chain and, specifically, in the credit assessment phase.Originality/value– Although the existence of substantial research on value chain vertical integration/disintegration in the literature, none has directly focussed on the credit assessment value chain. It leaves a gap that the paper aims to overcome. The value chain disintegration has deep managerial and financial implications at firm and industry levels, and the comprehension of the rational underlying it is critical to maintaining competitive business model configurations in the bank lending industry.

Objetivo: Fazer um contraponto ao entendimento de que as empresas fornecedoras de suprimentos buscam a vantagem competitiva sustentável pela liderança em custos, na sua relação B2B, em situação de mercado oligopsonista mantida pelos clientes. Método: O estudo foi exploratório, descritivo, qualitativo, fundamentado na Resource Based View com a realização de uma pesquisa junto a três montadoras de veículos e quatro fornecedores de autopeças (sistemistas), dentre as empresas de maior participação no mercado automobilístico no país, localizadas no Estado de São Paulo. Originalidade/Relevância: Caracterização dos recursos e das capacidades consideradas como estratégicas para a criação de valor superior aos produtos dos fornecedores, na relação B2B, que são decisivos para a manutenção da sua vantagem competitiva em relação à dos concorrentes. Resultados: Foi evidenciado que as empresas que oferecem valor superior nos seus produtos, em relação aos concorrentes, focam nas suas capacidades estratégicas como, as habilidades de identificar o valor do produto para os clientes, de compartilhar o conhecimento global para dar rápidas respostas aos clientes e de apresentar continuadamente inovações, diante do preço padrão. Contribuições teóricas/metodológicas: Mostrar que abordagens dentro da Administração estratégica, como a Resourece Based View, são limitadas ao focar apenas os aspectos econômicos da vantagem competitiva. Contribuições para a gestão: Oferecer indicações aos tomadores de decisão que a consideração do preço é um dado limitante em mercados concorrências, como o exemplo da indústria automobilística, mas que as estratégias de conquista e manutenção da vantagem competitiva estão na descoberta do que cria valor superior em relação aos concorrentes.

Supported by a qualitative study of triple bottom line (TBL) firms—those that simultaneously prioritize economic, social, and environmental objectives—we investigated the market logic and practices of TBL firms to better understand how they fulfill their mission and achieve their goals. We explored if and how TBL firms may differ in their approach to stakeholders and the management of their resources, including dynamic capabilities. We employed a research design that emphasizes the iterative comparison of narrative data within themselves and with scholarly literature [i.e., resource-based view (RBV)] to develop new theoretical insights. Because the RBV is commonly used to theorize how firms achieve competitive advantage, we explored whether TBL firms achieve competitive advantage differently from what RBV theory would predict. Our data suggest that how a firm defines value has a significant influence on the capabilities it creates and how it treats its resources. We find that TBL firms redefine value to not only focus on the end product or service but also to include the systemic cost of delivering goods. As a result, TBL firms differ from prevailing scholarly thought in RBV. They strive to have resources that are sustainable and therefore imitable, commonly found, and substitutable. Moreover, they are not only transparent in their processes but also collaborate with others in the value chain and in their sector. In doing so, they deliberately create new markets from which other firms can benefit. Rather than focusing on competitive advantage, they focus on collaborative advantage.

Based on a sample of 461 micro- and small family businesses in Western Austria, this study aimed to analyze the degree of internationalization of individual activities in the value chain and their influence on the export probability of family firms. The results show that exporting and non-exporting micro- and small family businesses are internationalized in different value chain activities and can partly explain the export probability. The resource-based view (RBV) can only be used to a limited extent to explain the export activities of micro- and small family firms, and certain firm-specific and individual-decision-maker characteristics can significantly explain export probability. The findings suggest that a) micro- and small family firms take different paths of internationalization concerning their value chain and b) that the global value chain (GVC) approach should be integrated into theoretical concepts to obtain an improved explanatory model of the internationalization behavior of (family) businesses.

To scale circular economy initiatives as a competitive asset, companies must learn to perform a “wise pivot.” Becoming a leading circular organization requires maturity along four dimensions: Operations, Products & Services, Culture & Organization, and Ecosystem. To progress successfully, companies must look inward and outward across the value chain and external ecosystem. Organizations need to understand where they fall within the four stages of the maturity journey: emerging (just starting out on the circular journey), established (part-way through, with some substantial wins), leading (corporate strategy has pivoted toward circularity), and ultimate (transforming value chains for a net positive environmental impact). While companies might tend to focus on areas within their immediate control, it is crucial to consider all four dimensions holistically due to their interdependencies.

14 - Role of core competencies in developing ISS in knowledge-based SMEs

The growing trend of healthy living is arguably one of the largest social and demographic trends currently in the United States. From “Baby Boomers” to children, individuals are shifting from the point of view of disease treatment to prevention. This has resulted in individuals increasing their understanding of diet-disease relationships and the benefits of dietary supplements. This trend presents an enormous opportunity for companies to exploit; yet with it carries threats for incumbent companies. One of those companies is NBTY, who markets approximately 25,000 products while also possessing multiple retail chains, such as Vitamin WorldR, in various geographic regions around the world. This study seeks to analyze the external environment, internal environment and NBTY’s strategy through the following questions: What are the macro- environmental factors influencing the structure of the dietary supplement industry and NBTY’s performance? Is the dietary supplement industry attractive or not? How does NBTY position itself? Also, what is their strategy and how do they implement their strategy? Analysis of the macro environment indicates that the Political & Legal, Economic, Demographic, Social, Technological and Global forces all influence the dietary supplement industry and NBTY’s performance. From the above, the Social and Demographic forces are most prominent in influencing the industry through the enormous industry demand. Following are the Political & Legal and Technological forces, which give way to a fragmented industry with low barriers of entry. The dietary supplement industry on the whole is considered to be low-moderate in terms of attractiveness. The key forces being that there is a high threat of entry and high bargaining power of buyers. To a lesser extent, there is low bargaining by suppliers and little to no substitutes. Through the Resource-Based View, their Inventory Control & Distribution Systems and their Branding was determined to be a sustained competitive advantage, while their worldwide manufacturing plants and access to worldwide distribution channels were considered only a strength. The Value Chain Analysis identified the following activities as key to their positioning and overall strategy: Inbound & Outbound Logistics, Operations and Technology Activities and their Production and Technology Activities. Through these activities and resources, they are strategically positioned to perform similar activities in different ways as compared to rivals. Furthermore, their available resources and activities are feasible to pursue a cost advantage strategy. The implementation of this strategy can be seen through their investments in technology as a supporting activity to multiple aspects of the value chain and acquisitions that support their cost advantage strategy. Their activities and resources is adequate for their strategy, which in turn fits the external environment. The implications of their strategy will create cost advantages as compared to their competitors and also create entry barriers for new entrants.

Despite substantial research on exporting in Africa, there has been negligible if any empirical research on a choice between regional and extra-regional markets as the locus of firms’ expansion. Using multiple-case studies, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of the drivers of exports revenue from extra-regional markets. The paper also explores whether two main theories, transaction cost economics (TCE) and resource-based view (RBV) compete or complement each other in explaining the choice of this market category. Data and information from an open-ended interview with four firms and five supporting institutions show that country-specific advantages attract investors with superior resources and capabilities to lucratively exploit preferential market opportunities in extra-regional markets, particularly USA. When choosing the latter over regional markets, firms anchor their operations in the global value chains, the TCE and RBV intertwine in providing further explanations. In conclusion, this study urges governments and business managers targeting high-value markets outside Africa to tie buyer-driven industries such as clothing to similar value chains.

The article describes value chains as a modern form of economic interaction taking intermediate position between the firm and the market. The authors carry out classification of value chains by different criteria; describe features of various types. The study allows the authors to conclude that the formation of specific capital is the basis for the sustainability of network structures, which yields returns in network relationship and has no value for relations with other counterparties. The paper proposes the author’s classification of specific capital types. Special emphasis is placed on the problem of value added distribution between integrators and other participants of value chains. The paper proposes a methodology for analyzing the distribution of value added between network participants, based on a comparison of relative values between each other — return on assets (the ratio of operating profit to average annual value of total assets) and average wages of participating companies. The objects of the research are global value chains created in aircraft and automobile industries. The analysis of real data disproves the widespread point of view that integrators have an advantage in distribution of value added. The distribution of value added between the participants of network relations may be based on a reciprocal exchange of power for economic benefits: integrators pay for the regulatory power with a smaller share in collective efficiency — the redistribution of economic rent within the network can occur not only in favor of the central companies, but also in favor of their partners.