Evolutionary Learning in Complex Social Systems: The Case of Pharmaceutical R&D and Strategy

Abstract

This paper presents a framework for an evolutionary theory of the social sciences applied to the macro-level patterns of creative innovations in pharmaceuticals and their explanation through micro-level processes in social systems. It draws together research and perspectives developed by others into a coherent framework that can unite meaningfully the fragmented area of social science research. Conceptually, it is based upon a ‘epistemological-cognitive’ interpretation of evolution as learning process. Creativity, as evolution, is about the selection and recombination of new variants in often modular and complex structures. The paper specifically illustrates how far an evolutionary analysis of social systems carries to explain creative change in the pharmaceutical industry. The paper is organized as follows: after the introduction, it presents the basis of the frame-work from evolutionary biology, followed by the discussion of innovations in the pharmaceuticals industry and its predominant blockbuster strategy. It then discusses how the case characteristics map into psychological and social processes and proposes a framework for social evolution. The paper concludes by arguing that evolutionary approaches can be applied meaningfully to those issues which involve creative learning processes such as strategies, innovation and research.