My published work
Please browse the hundreds of articles, peer-reviewed papers and books I’ve published about strategy in the life sciences and ask for any you want.
Or click here if you can’t find what you want.
Big hats, no cattle
December, 2024 SMM-292
Big hats, no cattle
When your colleagues see things differently from you, it may be because they are looking at it from a different angle. This article explains why managers may get what they like, not what they need.
Brand strategy – reviewing what you’ve learnt
December, 2024 SMM-291
Brand strategy – reviewing what you’ve learnt
Presenting your brand strategy for review by your most senior colleagues is a big deal, both professionally and personally. This article covers how to answer the most difficult questions in a strategy review.
More is different
November, 2024 SMM-290
More is different
For many management problems, accepted beliefs about why things happen are overly simplistic. This article advises why not to be simplistic when it comes to solving complex problems.
Medicines can be beyond reach
October, 2024 SMM-289
Medicines can be beyond reach – unless…
Solving the access to medicines problem needs an evolutionary leap
Strategy Execution – ensuring it all fits together
September, 2024 SMM-288
Strategy Execution – ensuring it all fits together
Effective brand strategies are like a well-made jigsaw but they can end up looking nothing like the picture that was agreed on.
Seeing Giraffes in the Boardroom
September, 2024 SMM-287
Seeing Giraffes in the Boardroom
In a market that is constantly changing, strategy sometimes needs a nudge.
Bayer’s Octopus Move
July/August, 2024 SMM-286
Bayer’s Octopus Move
The evolutionary lessons for Bayer’s management restructure.
What’s the difference?
July/August, 2024 SMM-285
What’s the difference?
The annual brand strategy review is important to both your business and your career. In some firms, it’s a valuable, effective exercise; but in others, it’s a time-wasting rigmarole.
What value does your strategic planning add?
P-AI-N or G-AI-N
June, 2024 SMM-284
P-AI-N or G-AI-N
Who will win in an AI-coloured world?
The Evolution of Hype
May, 2024 SMM-283
The Evolution of Hype
In an industry where management ideas rise and fall, beware the shock jocks of management ideas.
Strategising Fast and Slow
April, 2024 SMM-282
Strategising Fast and Slow
The best strategists understand their own thinking flaws.
The Killer Question
March, 2024 SMM-281
The Killer Question
Expert strategists ask four crucial questions when reviewing their strategy. The first one confounds most of us. This is the first in a series of articles about how to differentiate between strong and weak strategies.
The Anthropologists’ Advantage
March, 2024 SMM-280
The Anthropologists’ Advantage
The strategy review, at brand, business unit or board level, is a salient feature of business life. To make a positive impression, you first need to understand the hidden meaning of this important business ritual.
Big Truths, Small Spaces
February, 2024 SMM-279
Big Truths, Small Spaces
Dragonflies are very impressive hunters and they can teach us something about commercial excellence.
Change? Change!
January, 2024 SMM-278
Change? Change!
If a life sciences firm wants change, it has to change.
Continuously capable
December, 2023 SMM-276
Continuously capable – how firms stay ahead of their rivals using ‘acme comparators’
Helping firms identify not just the direction of their capability development but also the ways to achieve it.
T is for Trouble
December, 2023 SMM-277
T is for Trouble
Evolution beats transformation but it is also braver.
Corporate Cancer
Nov, 2023 SMM-275
Corporate Cancer
How to put a firm’s malignancy into remission
Engineering excellence: how to build your future business model
October, 2023 SMM-274
Engineering excellence: how to build your future business model
Success is a moving target and it depends on capabilities
Happy Accidents
October, 2023 SMM-273
Happy Accidents
A happy collision in market access
Dollo’s Law
September, 2023 SMM-272
Dollo’s Law
Why you and your company may be worse, rather than better, than you used to be.
Being the Change
July, 2023 SMM-271
Being the Change
Why it’s better to enable the future than to fight it.
Bridge of Sighs
June, 2023 SMM-269
Bridge of Sighs
Why it is better to understand commercial caution than to criticise it.
Choosing Capabilities
June, 2023 SMM-270
Choosing Capabilities
The second in a series of four articles, this article explains why tomorrow’s business model must be more capable than today’s model and helps you understand what capabilities you will need.
Glocalisation Change
May, 2023 SMM-268
Glocalisation Change
This is the third article in the glocalisation series. It addresses decisions on how to adapt global strategy to local conditions. It identifies the flaws in most common approaches and describes the habits that characterise the work of successful firms.
Adaptive innovation
May, 2023 SMM-267
Adaptive Innovation
When your processes and strategy templates hinder rather than help your innovation, your thymus can teach you a thing or two
Too Much Success
March, 2023 SMM-266
Too Much Success
Why some companies should be careful what they wish for when launching a new product or initiating a new strategy.
Connectome Competitivness
March, 2023 SMM-265
Connectome Competitiveness
It’s not what you do, it’s how what you do connects.
The Glocalisation Choice
March, 2023 SMM-264
The Glocalisation Choice
The first key question in glocalisation is how to allocate effort and resources across multiple countries. Most current practice is simplistic and naïve. This article proposes a sophisticated, multifactorial targeting approach. This article is the second in a series of three on the subject of glocalisation.
Changing an organisation’s microfoundations – why capabilities count
February, 2023 SMM-263
Changing an organisation’s microfoundations – why capabilities count
Today and tomorrow, it’s what you can and can’t do that counts
Declining Disruption
February, 2023 SMM-262
Declining Disruption
Why innovation may be becoming less innovative and what you can do about it.
Microfoundations matter
January, 2023 SMM-261
Microfoundations matter
In business, we’re fond of talking about transformational change. But, if you want to change, you need to sweat the small stuff.
Strategic Behaviour
January, 2023 SMM-260
Strategic Behaviour
Strong strategising depends on your colleagues’ behaviours. Here’s how to manage it to aid your strategy making.
The Glocalisation Challenge
December, 2022 SMM-258
The Glocalisation Challenge
The concept of glocalisation contrasts the increasingly global nature of the pharma market with the continuing importance of locally-specific market conditions. The implication is that firms need to develop superior capabilities in ‘glocalisation’ – the adaptation of a core, global strategy to local market conditions. This article is the first in a series covering a three-part approach to improving your company’s glocalisation capabilities.
Roche’s Creative Destruction
December, 2022 SMM-259
Roche’s Creative Destruction
A recent statement from Roche illustrates how Darwinian mechanisms act in our evolving market. Looking at the turmoil currently faced by start-up and early stage biotechs, we also see how difficulties can create opportunities.
C-Suite Keystones
November, 2022 SMM-257
C-Suite Keystones
Keystone routines in the C-suite shape your company and your career. Which type of CEO does your company have?
Cross-functional alignment
October, 2022 SMM-255
Cross-functional alignment
This is the third in my series of articles about the human side of strategy execution, published in Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe. This time I look at how cross-functional alignment works – and when it doesn’t.
COVID-19’s consequences
October, 2022 SMM-256
COVID-19’s consequences
I love the fact that our industry is evolving in surprising and hard-to-predict ways. Here’s why, in this complex adaptive ecosystem, COVID-19 vaccines might rhyme with antibiotics.
Longevity Lessons
September, 2022 SMM-254
Longevity Lessons
The secret to corporate longevity isn’t growth, it’s survival.
Born Strategic: Why great strategists are both born and made
September, 2022 SMM-250
Born Strategic: Why great strategists are both born and made
How great strategists and their supportive colleagues are born different and should be raised individually.
Strategic Commitment
September, 2022 SMM-251
Strategic Commitment
In the second of a series of articles about the human side of strategy execution, I describe how to gain your team’s commitment to your strategy
Strategic Instincts
June, 2022 SMM-248
Strategic Instincts
Four strategic instincts separate great strategists from the others. This article in Pharma Focus Asia discusses what makes some pharmaceutical companies better at making and executing strategy than others … and how those differentiating instincts can be taught.
Dumbing Down – Why your company may be making you less competent
June, 2022 SMM-249
Dumbing Down – Why your company may be making you less competent
To keep your cognitive and decision-making strength, look for a business where decision-making is valued
The Ecosystem Paradigm
May, 2022 SMM-252
The Ecosystem Paradigm
It has become fashionable in the life sciences industry to use the word ecosystem. But trying to find meaning in these various uses of the word is more difficult. In this article, I’ll guide you through how ecological thinking helps business thinking and addresses real-world challenges in the life sciences market.
Secret Signals
May, 2022 SMM-247
Secret Signals
In your market, the indication signals are there if you know where to look for them.
Fantasy Seminar
March, 2022 SMM-245
Fantasy Seminar
An imaginary conversation with Charles Darwin about the latest trends in pharma R&D
Strategic Cultures
March, 2022 SMM-246
Strategic Cultures
The first of a series of articles about the human side of strategy execution. How organisational culture can define or destroy your strategy
It’s not about the technology
February, 2022 SMM-244
It’s not about the technology
Why the market will disrupt the technology, not the other way round.
Modelling Success
February, 2022 SMM-253
Modelling Success
In recent years, the term ‘Business Model’ has come to dominate boardroom conversations. But what is a business model and how can you build one? This article looks at the research and gives a new, practical and useful definition that helps pharma business leaders understand what a business model is and how to build one.
Mastering Relationships
December, 2021 SMM-242
Mastering Relationships
This final article in a series of four about strategy expertise delves into the nebulous concept of relationships and how strategy experts master them.
The Great Data Event
December, 2021 SMM-241
The Great Data Event
Nobody can deny that digital health will transform the environment. But it won’t be the apps that do it.
Aduhelm’s Two Futures
December, 2021 SMM-239
Aduhelm’s Two Futures
I spend much of my life researching the evolution of the life sciences industry, and I’m often asked for my opinion on current developments in the sector. There are two possible futures I can see for Aduhelm (aducanumab)…
Modelling Success
December, 2021 SMM-240
Modelling Success
In recent years, the term ‘Business Model’ has come to dominate board-room conversations. Whether firms want to adapt their existing business model or create an entirely new one, the term has become ubiquitous amongst pharma business leaders. But what is a business model? How does it differ from strategy, structure or revenue model? Ask 100 people for a definition, you will get 100 answers to the question. Such confusion and vagueness is the enemy of change management. In this article, Brian D Smith looks at the research into business models and gives us a new, practical and useful definition, based on his study of the industry, that helps pharma business leaders understand what a business model is and how to build one.
Biotech’s Golden Non Sequitur
October, 2021 SMM-237
Biotech’s Golden Non Sequitur
Life sciences clusters have their pros and cons. This article looks at some of them.
Mastering Knowledge
October, 2021 SMM-238
Mastering Knowledge
Strategy expertise is built on knowledge management. True strategy experts master knowledge by acquiring three skills: declarative knowledge, causal knowledge and procedural knowledge. This article explains in more detail.
Pawsley’s Peepholes
September, 2021 SMM-236
Pawsley’s Peepholes
Can Darwin predict where sectors are headed?
Practice Makes Perfect
August, 2021 SMM-235
Practice Makes Perfect
Adopting industry best practice requires three critical skills: 1. Say what you mean. 2. Respect differences. 3. What works is what fits.
H is for Hard
July, 2021 SMM-234
H is for Hard
Turbocharging innovation is hard, especially in healthcare
Observations on the leadership of the pharmaceutical and medical technology industry from a generalized Darwinism perspective
June, 2021 SMM-233
Observations on the leadership of the pharmaceutical and medical technology industry from a generalized Darwinism perspective
This academic paper, published in Medical Technology Industry, identifies leadership behaviours that appear to be salient in life science firms and attempts to explain them as Darwinian adaptations to the particular characteristics of that industry.
Nature’s Way
June, 2021 SMM-231
Nature’s Way
There are business lessons to be learned from biological tragedies.
Mastering Oneself
June, 2021 SMM-232
Mastering Oneself
What does it take to be a biomedical strategy expert? This article weaves together research about strategy and expertise, then applies it to the specific context of the biomedical industry.
The Ecosystem Paradigm
May, 2021 SMM-230
The Ecosystem Paradigm
It has become fashionable in the life sciences industry to use the word ecosystem. More often than not, ecosystem is used as a modish synonym for a part of the market or a relationship between different organisations within the market. But thinking about our industry as an ecosystem has so much more value than sounding fashionably smart. This article guides you through how ecological thinking helps business thinking and addresses real-world challenges in the life sciences market.
Cross Functions
May, 2021 SMM-229
Cross Functions
The biggest problem in your company is also your biggest opportunity
Strategy experts: the real thingWhat defines genuine strategy experts in the biomedical industry?
April, 2021 SMM-227
Strategy experts: the real thingWhat defines genuine strategy experts in the biomedical industry?
There are many definitions of strategy but they all revolve around the allocation of substantial resources, sustained over time, to achieve large-scale goals. What defines genuine strategy experts in the biomedical industry?
In sickness and in health
April, 2021 SMM-228
In sickness and in health
Prevention is better than cure. Withings, Illumina, Abbott and Edwards point to the emergence of predicting and preventing illness.
Biomedical Market Leaders (Learning to thrive)
March, 2021 SMM-225
Biomedical Market Leaders (Learning to thrive)
In a rapidly changing market, the only competitive advantage that lasts is the ability to learn. Here is how our enduring biomedical market leaders do that.
Edging Towards Success
March, 2021 SMM-226
Edging Towards Success
Evolution tells us to to look for small advantages, not big leaps
Relics from the Past
January, 2021 SMM-224
Relics from the Past
Terms that were once perfectly descriptive now only serve to tell us how the world has changed
Putting theory into practice
December, 2020 SMM-222
Putting theory into practice
Ideas about new product adoption are dangerously out of date. That leads to many innovative new products failing to be fully adopted and many older, suboptimal products remaining in everyday use.
The Swiss Cheese Strategy
November, 2020 SMM-221
The Swiss Cheese Strategy
By copying the aviation industry, you can make sure your marketing strategy will fly.
The Chief Executive Ostrich
October, 2020 SMM-220
The Chief Executive Ostrich
Some of the most perplexing executive behaviour is simply Darwinian
Bayer’s Drop of the Future
October, 2020 SMM-219
Bayer’s Drop of the Future
With the rising importance of the ‘patient payer,’ the Bayer/One Drop business model brings together capabilities that neither firm possesses in full. Not only did this confirm the business model I predicted in my 2011 book “The Future of Pharma,” it also fitted in with how I saw it developing. This article explains the importance of such ‘holobionts’ in our industry.
The Science of the Deal
October, 2020 SMM-218
The Science of the Deal
This article describes the early findings from my work with Zaki Sallem, one of the Doctoral Candidates I supervise. It gives new insight into what drives and shapes the construction of IP deals in pharma and medtech.
Stop That!
September, 2020 SMM-217
Stop That!
Everywhere in our industry, I see thinking that works well for scientists. Questions like ‘how will factor x impact on situation y?’ This way of thinking has its place, especially where confounding factors can be isolated and controlled for. But we sometimes need a different kind of
tool. This article discusses how complex systems thinking can be harnessed to provide better answers to bigger questions.
Socially Distanced Strategising
July, 2020 SMM-216
Socially Distanced Strategising
The new normal can improve how you create strategy
We’ve got this!
June, 2020 SMM-215
We’ve got this!
Changes in the social and technological environment of the life sciences industry over the last century or so have varied greatly. But they had one thing in common: they all made the embedded, comfortable way we did things obsolete. Our industry has evolved before and we will again.
Evolving at home
May, 2020 SMM-214
Evolving at home
How we work from home will evolve in a Darwinian way.
The Big Issue
May, 2020 SMM-213
The Big Issue
On any working day, your CEO may face a thousand issues. But, from the C-suite, the elephant in the room is always bicongruence. This article explains how we tame it.
Covidian Selection
April, 2020 SMM-212
Covidian Selection
COVID-19 will trigger a spurt of change in the life sciences industry and, perhaps, a brighter future
Awesome Abstraction
March, 2020 SMM-211
Awesome Abstraction
Business development deals and commercial operating models show the power of Generalised Darwinism
Natural Intelligence
February, 2020 SMM210
Natural Intelligence
Being overly focussed on artificial intelligence (AI) can blind us to the hugely valuable resource that almost all life science companies have at their fingertips, their natural intelligence. This article gives clear steps for using natural intelligence to test marketing strategy.
Digital Divergence
February, 2020 SMM-209
Digital Divergence
Combining digital and pharma is proving less easy than previously thought, but the reasons have little to do with the technology.
Blood Will Out
January, 2020 SMM-207
Blood Will Out
Why it is important to look closely at a firms routines and micrcofoundations when considering a merger or acquisition.
Blind Man’s Buff
December, 2019 SMM-206
Blind Man’s Buff
Business evolution need not be wasteful. Its variation is not random but at least partly deliberate. It’s up to us how much we deliberate and how much we waste.
The Mission Matters
December, 2019 SMM-207
The Mission Matters
A successful life sciences company is a diverse army of experts. Mission statements are not just platitudes; they are the tool CEOs use to guide the discretionary activity of the company’s experts.
Coaching Brand Strategy
November, 2019 SMM-205
Coaching Brand Strategy
Coaching works well when the performance issues are well understood, clearly defined, and individual. But coaching a strategy team is much more difficult because the issues are usually fuzzy, interconnected and systemic. This article describes the challenges of coaching a strategy team and a three-step process for overcoming those challenges.
Mind your language
November, 2019 SMM-203
Mind your language
In marketing terminology, semantic precision is the hallmark of a professional. This article defines the eight most essential marketing concepts and makes clear the practical implications for marketers’ capabilities and professionalism.
The End of Pharma
November, 2019 SMM-204
The End of Pharma
Why some parts of the life sciences industry may become obsolete, and how Darwinian theory may help your company to plan its evolution accordingly.
Breaking the Cookie Cutter
October, 2019 SMM-202
Breaking the Cookie Cutter
Why the power of Darwin’s idea is that it is so widely applicable, both in theory and in practice.
Darwinian Leadership
September, 2019 SMM-201
Darwinian Leadership
Leadership in the life sciences is neither being a servant nor an autocrat. It is about adaptation to the exceptional features of our industry environment and it owes much to Darwin.
Why Marry?
September, 2019 SMM-200
Why Marry?
Business schools teach that the primary reason firms merge is to acquire economies of scale and sometimes of scope. This makes a lot of sense in some industries, but it has less explanatory power in the life sciences. This article looks at mergers and acquisitions from an evolutionary perspective to see what determines success in our industry.
Exceptional leadership for an exceptional industry
September, 2019 SMM-199
Exceptional leadership for an exceptional industry
Professor Brian D Smith dives into findings from his research to see what makes a good pharma leader. To succeed, you must recognise and understand what
makes our industry exceptional and then adapt to those conditions.
Messy Marketing
August, 2019 SMM-198
Messy Marketing
How deliberate disordering can enhance your strategic marketing planning.
Edging Evolution
July, 2019 SMM-197
Edging Evolution
Evolution of your business model doesn’t have to be slow. And you don’t have to wait for it to happen; you can make it happen. This article explains how.
Pharmaplasticity
June, 2019 SMM-196
Pharmaplasticity
In a transforming market, understanding of the mechanics of change – how it happens and why it often does not – is among the most valuable knowledge a manager can acquire. This article uncovers what evolutionary science can teach us about change in life sciences companies.
It’s not the end of the world, is it?
May, 2019 SMM-194
It’s not the end of the world, is it?
As the life sciences industry changes, various types of apocalypse threaten. This article suggests ways in which companies might survive such environmental disasters.
Deep Value
May, 2019 SMM-195
Deep Value
Why value-based healthcare is difficult. Insights from Eric Topol’s book Deep Medicine applied to the evolution of the life sciences industry.
It’s complicated
April, 2019 SMM-192
It’s complicated
Why commercial executives should think more like scientists.
Breaking bad
April, 2019 SMM-193
Breaking bad
Six brand management habits that medical marketers should break.
Medical Marketing Superheroes
March, 2019 SMM-190
Medical Marketing Superheroes
Imagine if you could genetically engineer your medical marketing team. This short article outlines some concepts that have very important practical implications for leaders in the life sciences. They mean that it is possible to engineer a much superior medical marketing team. But training alone is not
the answer.
Quick Change
March, 2019 SMM-191
Quick Change
What bird feathers can tell us about adapting to the market.
Gene Genie
February, 2019 SMM-189
Gene Genie
Why evolution will find new markets for gene and cell therapies, despite their high cost.
Gradually, then suddenly
January, 2019 SMM-188
Gradually, then suddenly
Why company extinction is the result of cognitive shortcomings
Midas Touch
November, 2018 SMM-187
Midas Touch
When smart, but small, science can turn old ideas into gold.
Medtech’s Mixed-up Monsters
October, 2018 SMM-186
Medtech’s Mixed-up Monsters
If nature abhors a vacuum, traditional theory has it that investors hate conglomerates; markets tend to value aggregates of different businesses at less than the sum of their parts. How odd, therefore, that most larger life sciences firms – Medtronic, J&J, Becton Dickinson, Stryker and the like – are effectively run as a group of diverse businesses operating in an essentially autonomous way under a larger corporate umbrella.
Big pharma, little pharma
September, 2018 SMM-185
Big pharma, little pharma
Why, for smaller firms, imitating large firms may be a less viable approach than imitating other small firms.
Brand teams: why are some smarter than others?
July, 2018 SMM-184
Brand teams: why are some smarter than others?
In practice, all brand teams recruit from the same labour pool, adopt industry-standard processes and buy data from the usual sources. It’s unrealistic to expect your people to be smarter than your competitors’, so why are brand plans so greatly differentiated?
Keytruda’s Secret Sauce
August, 2018 SMM-183
Keytruda’s Secret Sauce
Why Merck’s position in oncology is about much more than a good product.
Less is more
June, 2018 SMM-180
Less is more
In most life science companies, the brand plan document is not fit for purpose. Intended to communicate the plan and gain commitment, It is typically a time-consuming tome that is rarely read and often ridiculed. The problem lies not in the content but in the way that it is structured. In this article, I describe the way that brand plans are evolving into something better adapted to the 21st century life science industry.
Malthus’ orphans
June, 2018 SMM-181
Malthus’ orphans
Firms focusing on small, high-profit niches risk falling into a 200-year-old trap.
The Genetically Modified Marketer
June, 2018 SMM-182
The Genetically Modified Marketer
The turbulent confluence of technological and sociological change means that it is impossible to step into the same market twice. Marketers must also change and adapt to the shifting demands of the market. Yet, as much research has demonstrated, meaningful organisational change is hard to do are rare in practice.
Getting the sizing right
May, 2018 SMM-179
Getting the sizing right
Merger and acquisition activity in the life sciences industry can learn from the natural world. This article explains why the key to success is being both bigger and different.
Segmentation, evolved
April, 2018 SMM-178
Segmentation, evolved
Evolutionary adaptations are a response to market selection pressures, as seen by Sanofi’s Praluent strategy.
The valuable brand
March, 2018 SMM-177
The valuable brand
The pressures of the 21st century market are slowly driving the adaptation of brand strategy, which means that creating value beyond the pill is both
possible and increasingly necessary.
The evolution of brand strategy
March, 2018 SMM-176
The evolution of brand strategy
As our market has evolved into one where payers and patients shape decisions, the nature of brand strategy has adapted to that new environment. This article, describes
the newly emerging characteristics of brand strategy and how it can guide your own strategic planning.
Digital shakeout
March, 2018 SMM-175
Digital shakeout
Recent announcements by Nokia, Roche and others point to where digital health is heading. Whether their business models will survive or become extinct depends on how well they adapt to the Information Shift.
The Secret of Success
February, 2018 SMM-174
The Secret of Success
It is becoming clear that success in pharma is associated with specialisation, but what is the mechanism by which it works?
2018 by Darwin
January, 2018 SMM-173
2018 by Darwin
Our industry’s evolution can’t be predicted, but it can be foreseen, says Brian D Smith in this look at the industry trends emerging in 2018.
The New Basics
December, 2017 SMM-172
The New Basics
Why innovative products and creative marketing won’t help if our industry fails to address the new basics.
Amazon’s invasion
December, 2017 SMM-171
Amazon’s invasion
It’s no good being alarmed about Amazon entering the pharma market as a new channel. The organisation is incredibly competitive; and the disruption it has caused in every market it has touched is a business phenomenon. It would be naive to discount the threat of Amazon – strategists in the life science sector need to understand and address the implications of Amazon’s entry.
Choices, choices
March, 2017 SMM-158b
Choices, choices
Not all innovative business models are equal – different ‘species’ of business model are required to fit different parts of the healthcare environment.
A butterfly flaps its wings
February, 2017 SMM-156b
A butterfly flaps its wings
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the idea that complex systems can be so delicately balanced that small events, such as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, can have large effects, such as a hurricane. Those who study the evolution of the complex, adaptive system that is the life science industry look out for such trigger events.
The Great Schism
November, 2017 SMM-170
The Great Schism
While recent approval by the FDA of Novartis’ new Kymriah gene therapy for leukaemia is undoubtedly cause for celebration, evolution suggests that such technological advance might also be the herald of further increasing social inequality.
Pharma’s Coral Reef
October, 2017 SMM-169
Pharma’s Coral Reef
A comparison of the life science industry past and present reveals that holobionts are now the principal form of competitor, while the fully integrated, self-sufficient company is becoming a rarity. This article identifies three important things that executives ought to reflect on when tasked with adapting their organisations to a different world.
Breathing Data
October, 2017 SMM-168
Breathing Data
Amidst announcements and industry gossip about how companies such as Apple and Google are planning to upend the life science industry by their use of data, Novartis’s new CEO designate, Vas Narasimham, stressed the use of AI and data to revolutionise research and development productivity. This has strong parallels with evolutionary biology and, as reader’s of my work will know, it confirms what I’ve been predicting: in a world where data is pervasive, learning to use data at scale and in an integrated, bidirectional manner is essential for survival.
Life Lessons
October, 2017 SMM-167
Life Lessons
Generics were once an unstoppable behemoth, threatening to dominate the industry as they sucked up market share. But their model seems to be fading. In this low-cost, non-innovative habitat, existing giants are being out-evolved by a combination of more specialised business models.
Life Story
September, 2017 SMM-166
Life Story
Product Life Cycle (PLC) is a familiar tool to experienced executives in pharma or medtech. It’s often assumed to be synonymous with line extension tactics, for defending against me-toos and generics. But the concept is much more useful. This article, explains the origins of this strategic management tool and shows how it can be essential to optimising the value of a brand.
The co-evolution conundrum
July, 2017 SMM-164
The co-evolution conundrum
Uptake of innovative products is not just a sales or marketing problem but a lesson in co-evolution. Recognising that both sides need to adapt is crucial to understanding why the innovative companies and their customers must evolve together.
Living in fear
July, 2017 SMM-165
Living in fear
Many industry leaders seem to live in existential fear, that they may not know, or not understanding the significance of, something that would render their strategic choices flawed. This article discusses how an evolutionary perspective can reduce that risk.
Force Protection
July, 2017 SMM-163
Force Protection
Competitor analysis is one of the core activities of the strategic planning process. If it is not executed effectively, we will fail to understand the competitive threats faced by our business and so will find it impossible to mitigate or to defend against those threats with any degree of success. And yet this important section of the strategic plan is often surprisingly weak.
Good news, bad news
June, 2017 SMM-162
Good news, bad news
As the definition of value changes in life sciences, we can anticipate that, while the world is set to spend more on healthcare, the spend will be different.
Why Change Fails
May, 2017 SMM-161
Why Change Fails
This article explores what evolutionary science can tell us about effecting real, valuable change in complex organisations.
The diseased organisation
April, 2017 SMM-160
The diseased organisation
This feature article from PME uses my research on how organisations evolve to help you understand why things go wrong in companies. It will give you a new and useful perspective on the challenges you face.
Reading the signals
April, 2017 SMM-159
Reading the signals
This is one of my regular Darwin’s Medicine columns and describes how you interpret the ‘weak signals’ that you see in your market to better understand and adapt your strategy.
Life Science’s Tangled Bank of Business Models
February, 2017 SMM-158
Life Science’s Tangled Bank of Business Models
The pharma industry is experiencing an explosion of new business models, more numerous and specialised than we’re used to. Companies need to pick the right model and adapt faster and better than their competitors. This In Vivo article is the third in a series from Brian Smith’s new book, Darwin’s Medicine.
Six Big Shifts in Life Sciences
February, 2017 SMM-157
Six Big Shifts in Life Sciences
It’s the question to which we all want the answer: Where is our industry headed?
The answer is: Exactly where it is being pushed by what Charles Darwin called “immeasurably superior forces.” This In Vivo article is the second in a series from Brian Smith’s new book, Darwin’s Medicine.
Strategic Symbionts
January, 2017 SMM-156
Strategic Symbionts
Strategic alliances are becoming more interesting and more important as, increasingly, we see the emergence of symbiotic relationships as a common choice of how to compete in life sciences.
Choose or lose
December, 2016 SMM-155
Choose or lose
The divergence of business models demands brave choices and the implication for industry leaders
is clear: choose a business model and become the best you can at it as fast as you can.
Building the future
December, 2016 SMM-154
Building the future
In my previous articles in this series, I described my research findings about the forces shaping our industry (Under Pressure, PME February 2016), the 26 new business models created by those forces (Explosive Evolution, PME June 2016) and how firms select which model to evolve into (Choosing
Destiny, PME September 2016). In this final article, I describe the process that takes a firm from its
present into its future.
Four switches of success
December, 2016 SMM-153
Four switches of success
Very similar firms often achieve very different results. This is explained by their genetic switches.
Rigour or Rigmarole
December, 2016 SMM-152
Rigour or Rigmarole
All companies plan to succeed but only a few succeed in planning. The differences between them lie in how they answer seven fundamental questions.
Pricing’s Dodos
October, 2016 SMM-149
Pricing’s Dodos
One of my research streams is focused on the evolution of market access capabilities. Recently in an advisory role involving the market access strategy for a huge but ageing brand, I observed real-world behaviour that perfectly illustrates the evolution of the industry.
Targeting’s Book of the Dead
September, 2016 SMM-148
Targeting’s Book of the Dead
Why might companies full of bright, educated people do something that is, frankly, not very bright at all? The answer lies in its evolution; this article looks at why it happens and how to avoid it.
Cross Functional Working
September, 2016 SAI-054
Cross Functional Working
This article looks at the flawed approach to cross functional working that permeates business today and advises how organisations might address this to improve our success.
Choosing Destiny
September, 2016 SMM-147
Choosing Destiny
This follows on from my previous two articles in this series. I described the forces shaping the life science industry (see Under Pressure, PME Feb 2016) and the subsequent emergence of 26 new business models (See Explosive Evolution, PME June 2016). This newly complex landscape means a plethora of choices for industry strategists and makes it all the more important that they choose their future business model carefully. But how, faced with such complexity, can we pick the model that will work best for us? My research into how firms answer this question reveals a four-step process for navigating the life science market of the future.
Explosive Evolution
June, 2016 SMM-146
Explosive Evolution
This article builds on a preceding article (title: Under Pressure) about the selection pressures shaping the life sciences industry. It describes a small part of my research into how life science business models are evolving. The picture I paint will, I hope, provoke thought and stimulate questions about how firms might direct and accelerate their own evolution. In the next two articles, I will answer those questions.
The Genetically Modified Organisation
June, 2016 SMM-145
The Genetically Modified Organisation
To paraphrase Darwin, it is not the strongest nor most intelligent life science company that will survive, it is the one most able to change. Yet many companies find it very difficult to change in ways that preserves the best of the corporate DNA whilst adapting to the changes in our technological, political, economic and social environments. New research in this area sheds light on what constitutes a firm’s DNA, what changes are demanded by the market and how firms make these changes. This work allows senior executives to perform the equivalent of gene therapy on their firms: identifying the genes that are necessary for competitiveness and inserting them into their corporate genome.
A Frugal Future
May, 2016 SMM-143
A Frugal Future
Looking at the future of the life science industry, it’s evident that value will dominate the industry environment. As a result, free-spending life science companies will be replaced by frugal, ruthlessly efficient companies. We already see evidence of this new and very different environment and should be prepared for a frugal future.
GSK’s Morality Gene
April, 2016 SMM-142
GSK’s Morality Gene
GSK’s recent decisions about pricing, transparency and return on investment seem to indicate an interesting new adaption to market conditions, one that is likely to be followed by the industry. This article will interest anyone interested in the life science industry’s ‘licence to operate’ in our society.
Sexual selection
March, 2016 SMM-141
Sexual selection
By focusing on a particular trait when we interview candidates for a position in our organisation, we may open ourselves up to unintended consequences, neglecting the full range of routines we need.
Under Pressure
February, 2016 SMM-140
Under Pressure
There are six inexorable forces shaping the evolution of pharma and medtech. Asking and answering the questions about what selection pressures are acting in our industry is the first step in predicting how the industry will look in future.
J&J’s Portent of Purity
February, 2016 SMM-139
J&J’s Portent of Purity
There is a new pattern of shareholder pressure across the sector, leading to new corporate structures being seen to emerge.
Not as we know it
January, 2016 SMM-138
Not as we know it
When it comes to evolution in industry, we need to think bout how the patient need will be met in future and evolve accordingly.
The Future of Pfizer(s)
December, 2015 SMM-137
The Future of Pfizer(s)
The media is full of the Pfizer-Allergan deal, especially the likely break up of the post-merger company into ‘innovative’ and ‘mature’ products. But lacking in this frenzied coverage is any sort of scientific examination of the move, which is ironic for an industry that prides itself on its knowledge intensity. This article offers an evolutionary science perspective on where that megadeal leads.
Competing on Alignment
October, 2015 SMM-136
Competing on Alignment
SWOT is both the most powerful and least understood strategic management tool. Used correctly, it translates the outputs of many other market analyses into a small number of key issues.
This very practical article will help make sure you gain the most from using this important tool.
Escaping Wicked Problems
November, 2015 SMM-135
Escaping Wicked Problems
Some management dilemmas defy logic; they seem unsolvable by any traditional, methodical approach. However, in some circumstances, collaborative consensus offers the best potential outcome.
Acting at Random
November, 2015 SMM-134
Acting at Random
Life sciences companies stumble through evolutionary space and often fail.
Tragedy of the Commons
October, 2015 SMM-133
Tragedy of the Commons
Why evolution suggests that we need to be altrustic to our rivals.
Dead Man’s Shoes
September, 2015 SMM-132
Dead Man’s Shoes
As the industry evolves, this article examines how obsolete business models make space for new ones.
Unintended Consequences
August, 2015 SMM-130
Unintended Consequences
Recent and continuing issues that the pharmaceutical industry has with business ethics remind us that good intentions can have unintended consequences. This article looks at how life science companies could take advantage of existing research to build organisational routines to predict and manage unexpected outcomes from organisational change.
The Lasting Advantage
June, 2015 SMM-128
The Lasting Advantage
A transforming market quickly renders existing assets and capabilities obsolete. In a life sciences market where technology, customers and competitors are evolving, organisational learning is the only lasting advantage. What organisational learning is, what it is not, and how it is achieved emerges from the practice of exemplary companies.
Research Watch
June, 2015 SMM-129
Research Watch
This Research Watch covers everything from personalised medicine, to new market entry, to alliances and networks.
Critical Thinking
June, 2015 SMM-126
Critical Thinking
Professor Brian D Smith assesses the Darwinian model of mutation in pharmaceutical companies.
Evolution of Excellence
May, 2015 SMM-125
Evolution of Excellence
Many examples of excellence don’t stand the test of time. How can we better understand how firms become and remain excellent? And how might that understanding change the way we grow our own organisation’s capabilities? Professor Brian D Smith’s article, published in Sri Lankan Marketer, suggests the answer lies in the related sciences of complexity and evolution.
Great Divides
May, 2015 SMM-124
Great Divides
In this article, Professor Brian D Smith describes how three fundamental strategic choices are leading to the fragmentation of the traditional research-based business model. This article will help managers understand how their organisations and competitors are evolving.
Coming Together
April, 2015 SMM-123
Coming Together
Pharma and medtech are converging to form “pharmatech” business models that are very strong competitors. It will be of interest to those who must compete against them or who want to become one of them.
Friend or Foe
June, 2015 SMM-127
Friend or Foe
This article looks at the implications of co-evolutionary theory for pharma companies.
Mission Critical
March, 2015 SMM-122
Mission Critical
This feature article is an interesting by-product of Brian Smith’s research with industry leaders. It describes about how leaders mitigate the isolation they sometimes feel by using strategy counsellors. It also provides useful guidance about getting the best out of this kind of support.
Under Pressure
March, 2015 SMM-121
Under Pressure
This short article summarises some of Brian’s research into the selection pressures that are acting on and shaping business models in life sciences. It introduces ideas about how various market changes act differentially on different business model types.
A Matter of Trust
February, 2015 SMM-120
A Matter of Trust
This is a short article that looks at the likely future relevance of consumer brand trust to pharma companies.
Searching for Junk
January, 2015 SMM_119
Searching for Junk
A short article that looks at recent acquisitions in medical industries and suggests questions executives should ask to ascertain whether their acquisition strategy has the right focus.
Pharma’s Pigeons
January, 2015 SMM-117
Pharma’s Pigeons
This short article describes how rare disease business models are an early sign of the evolutionary path of some pharma companies. It’s a good way to put this increasingly popular strategy into a wider context.
Six Great Shifts
November, 2014 SMM-118
Six Great Shifts
This feature article from PharmaFocus Asia pulls together all the complex changes in our industry environment to identify six evolutionary selection pressures that will determine whether business models survive or become extinct. It’s a good framework to help make sense of our industry.
Sharper Focus
November, 2014 SMM-116
Sharper Focus
Strategies often get lost in translation as they are communicated along the chain of command. This article examines how a highly effective brand teams connect high-level strategy with operational activity.
Balancing Act
November, 2014 SMM-115
Balancing Act
Company culture acts as a brake on change, preventing adaptation to fast-moving markets. This article (from the Darwin’s Medicine series) looks at how to overcome this problem without throwing away the unique advantages your culture gives your company.
Death Valley
October, 2014 SMM-114
Death Valley
For life sciences companies, evolving is becoming harder not easier. Sometimes an injection of new genes is imperative for survival. This article is part of the Darwin’s Medicine series, published in Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe.
It’s In Our Genes
September, 2014 SMM-113
It’s In Our Genes
Evolution is almost always used as a synonym for change and DNA as a metaphor for habits. However,by relegating evolution to a mere metaphor, we risk missing the value in the best idea anyone has ever had. It isn’t a metaphor for what’s happening to the medical industries – variation, selection and amplification, are all parts of evolution that is happening all around us.
Managing Uncertainty
July, 2014 SMM-112
Managing Uncertainty
In a feature article published in Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe, Professor Brian D Smith looks at how futures we cannot predict require a different approach to strategy making.
History Rhymes
July, 2014 SMM-111
History Rhymes
In this, the latest in the Darwin’s Medicine series from Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe, Professor Brian D Smith looks at how recent events in the pharmaceutical industry are an echo from the 19th century.
Nothing Makes Sense
May, 2014 SMM-110
Nothing Makes Sense
This article in PME’s Darwin’s Medicine series discusses how evolutionary theory helps us understand and adapt to the industry’s latest deal-making frenzy.
Pharma’s Shrinking Waterhole
June, 2014 SMM-109
Pharma’s Shrinking Waterhole
A paradox of evolution is that well adapted creatures are also the most vulnerable; species thrive in their chosen habitat but decline when it changes. The same analogy helps us to see the strategic necessity for pharma companies to reconsider how they will survive in a future industry. This is the third article in Professor Brian D Smith’s series of Darwin’s Medicine articles, published by Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe.
Sex is a Good Trick
April, 2014 SMM-107
Sex is a Good Trick
In this article – part of PME’s Darwin’s Medicine series – Brian D Smith explains why pharma companies – and payers – should stop incestuous ‘best practice’ behaviours and look for new ways of comparing options.
Hollow Victory
April, 2014 SMM-108
Hollow Victory
How success traps companies and makes them vulnerable to competition.
Lessons on the Value of Service
March, 2014 SMM-105
Lessons on the Value of Service
Professor Brian D Smith explores why so many medtech companies find it hard to create and offer customer added value services and gives tips on how to overcome this difficulty to gain competitive advantage.
Certainty Comes Too Late (Darwin’s Medicine)
February, 2014 SMM-106
Certainty Comes Too Late (Darwin’s Medicine)
This is the first column in the new Darwin’s Medicine series in Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe. Prof Brian D Smith points out the practical implications of an evolving pharmaceutical market where, by the time we actually see the changes, it will be too late to do anything about them.
The Adaptation Puzzle
January, 2014 SMM-102
The Adaptation Puzzle
With so may attempts failing, isn’t it time you restructured your approach to change management?
Rising to the Challenge
December, 2013 SMM-101
Rising to the Challenge
The medtech industry is a constant battle between established firms and emerging rivals. What do these battles tell us about strategies for maintaining or overturning an entrenched market position? Professor Brian D Smith’s research into the industry’s evolution points to three key themes and highlights companies from whom lessons can be learnt.
Modern Values
July, 2013 SMM-100
Modern Values
Understanding the new concepts and processes of value will be the first steps towards adapting to a new healthcare environment.
Capturing an elusive phenomenon: developing and testing a multiple perspective model of marketing strategy implementation
September, 2013 SAI-053
Capturing an elusive phenomenon: developing and testing a multiple perspective model of marketing strategy implementation
This paper reports on a survey of executives in pharmaceutical and medical technology companies concerning strategy implementation. It finds that the written strategy is not always implemented and that the reasons for this include both intra-organisational conflict and individual self-interest.
Breaking Free From Medtech’s Iron Cage
August, 2013 SMM-099
Breaking Free From Medtech’s Iron Cage
Adapting to changes in the market environment is critical to the survival of any organisation. So, why do so many medtech companies find it particularly challenging to implement strategic change in order to adapt? Professor Brian Smith’s research reveals hidden barriers to managing change and finds out from successful change-managers their secret to overcoming them.
New Tribes: The Shape of Medtech to Come
June, 2013 SMM-098
New Tribes: The Shape of Medtech to Come
Brian D Smith looks at the emergence of new structures in the medical technology sector.
Emerging Models
April, 2013 SMM-097
Emerging Models
When thinking about the evolution of the pharma industry, it’s easy to think in terms of struggles between incumbent dinosaurs and emerging new business models with a ‘survival of the fittest’ conclusion. But this is to take too simplistic a view of the complex adaptive system that is our industry. Increasingly, our research suggests a more sophisticated description for the sector’s development, with important implications for leadership and strategy.
The Future of Pharma? Speciation, Sex and Death
April, 2013 SMM-096
The Future of Pharma? Speciation, Sex and Death
Having published a 3-year research project and an 80,000 word book on the subject, I am often asked, by pharma executives too impatient to read the whole story, “So, in a nutshell, what is the future of Pharma?” Hiding my amusement that such a huge subject can be compressed into a sound bite, my usual reply is: “Speciation, sex and death”. Of course, my slightly flippant answer begets a puzzled look so, if you have the patience, here is a slightly fuller version.
The role of product life cycle in medical technology innovation
March, 2013 SMM-095
The role of product life cycle in medical technology innovation
Based on a review of both general and context specific literature in this field, this paper finds that medical technology innovation is strongly influenced by life cycle effects, particularly with respect to price erosion. It also finds that our general understanding of product life cycle indicates that individual curves are strongly influenced by supply side constraints, such as patent protection and barriers to entry, and demand side factors, such as market heterogeneity and diffusion mechanisms. This has important social and economic implications for access to improved therapies, healthcare spending and investment in innovation.
Fitness First
February, 2013 SMM-094
Fitness First
As the market changes, existing capabilities become useless and new ones become essential. Professor Brian D Smith describes how pharma companies become fit for the future
Megatrends that will impact the future of medtech
December, 2012 SMM-093
Megatrends that will impact the future of medtech
The medical technology sector is being reshaped by fundamental changes that will destroy old business models and demand new capabilities.
Excellence in market access strategy: A research-based definition and diagnostic tool
December, 2012 SMM-092
Excellence in market access strategy: A research-based definition and diagnostic tool
Market access strategy is a pressing and important issue for almost all pharmaceutical and medical technology companies. Yet the content of market access strategy is poorly defined and is often confused with process, objective and operational activity. Further, little is known about the differences between strong and weak market access strategies. Based on four in-depth case studies, this article proposes a tested definition of what market access strategy is. It identifies nine factors that characterise the strength of any market access strategy and proposes a graduated scale for those nine factors that enables the objective assessment of the strength of market access strategies prior to execution.
Access all areas
November, 2012 SMM-091
Access all areas
Market Access is a major issue facing innovative medical technology companies. In this article, Professor Brian D Smith reveals the characteristics that differentiate strong market access strategies from the weak ones.
Testing Times
October, 2012 SMM-089
Testing Times
Most medtech firms find the annual business plan review an unsatisfactory process. Research into the few who do find the process beneficial reveals three valuable lessons.
Superior segmentation
April, 2012 SMM-088
Superior segmentation
As patients and payers join in the prescribing decision, the industry needs new models of definition.
Lifecycle management
March, 2012 SMM-087
Lifecycle management
Product life cycle is a concept that is so familiar that we barely think about it; but at a time when business growth is harder than ever, understanding how this idea applies in medical technology markets is essential to a product’s return on investment.
JMM Research Watch Vol 11.4
September, 2011 JMM-030
JMM Research Watch Vol 11.4
This review of peer-reviewed research covers topics from allocating marketing budgets to HMO tactics, from health advocacy organisations to sales team technology and from outsourcing to CROs to the adoption of new medical technology.
JMM Research Watch Vol 11.3
June, 2011 JMM-029
JMM Research Watch Vol 11.3
This quarter’s review of published research reflects some of the most compelling issues facing medical marketers: Innovation, finance and the creation of
new markets.
JMM Research Watch Volume 12.1
February, 2012 JMM-031
JMM Research Watch Volume 12.1
This review of published papers covers the big trends in medical markets, from health economics to innovation and emerging markets.
Two Tribes
February, 2012 SMM-086
Two Tribes
Among the cultural similarities that are shared by every pharmaceutical company is the tribalism of sales and marketing. Longstanding methods to try to bridge the divide have failed, so now it is time to look at new solutions.
Pinpoint Precision
December, 2011 SMM-085
Pinpoint Precision
It is important to improve the risk-adjusted return on investment ratio when performing the annual brand plan review.
The Causes of Healthcare Inflation
December, 2011 SMM-084
The Causes of Healthcare Inflation
To understand the belief that medical technology costs drive healthcare inflation it is useful to trace its origins. The idea that spending on medical technology is a primary driver of healthcare costs is often traced to the work of US health economist
Joseph Newhouse. In this, the fourth of a series of research briefs for the European Health Technology Institute (EHTI), Professor Brian D Smith looks at Newhouse’s work and discusses truth versus myth.
An Unfolding Story: The Emerging Picture of the Value of New Medical Technology
October, 2011 SMM-083
An Unfolding Story: The Emerging Picture of the Value of New Medical Technology
In this European Health Technology Institute research brief, Professor Brian D Smith looks at the value of innovative medical technology and how research has uncovered a clear pattern in health economics.
Six Lessons for Knowledge Based Marketers
October, 2011 SAI-051
Six Lessons for Knowledge Based Marketers
Professor Brian D Smith describes how marketing in knowledge-based industries is different from other businesses.
Improving HTA in Medical Technology: Six Goals for Constructive Engagement
August, 2011 SMM-082
Improving HTA in Medical Technology: Six Goals for Constructive Engagement
In this European Health Technology Institute research brief, Professor Brian D Smith looks at how Medical technology companies need to help health technology assessment processes become better at identifying real value.
Beyond KOL management: Communities of practice as a new perspective on pharmaceutical market penetration
March, 2011 SMM-076
Beyond KOL management: Communities of practice as a new perspective on pharmaceutical market penetration
Pharmaceutical marketers have traditionally relied heavily on the diffusion of innovation model and the associated idea of the key opinion leader. However, these ideas are strongly rooted in consumer markets and have little empirical support in the complex, professional decision making process typical of pharmaceutical markets. This article, co-authored with senior staff from Cegedim, considers as an alternative the concept of communities of practice model and discusses the implications of this for future research and the practice of pharmaceutical marketing.
Turf Wars: what the intraorganisational conflict literature may contribute to our understanding of marketing strategy implementation
February, 2011 SAI-050
Turf Wars: what the intraorganisational conflict literature may contribute to our understanding of marketing strategy implementation
The problem of strategy non-implementation is important and complex but poorly understood. This paper published in the Journal of Strategic Marketing explores the explanatory value of theories regarding intraorganisational conflict. It concludes that certain concepts from this area, when augmented with ideas from the social psychology literature and empirical observations of marketing’s interface with other functions, help our understanding of marketing strategy implementation. This may form the basis of future work towards improving the understanding and management of strategy implementation.
The Road Ahead
January, 2011 SMM-074
The Road Ahead
Our strategy for the future is dependent on what has happened in the past. This article looks at how path dependency theory can help us do a better job of creating strong marketing strategies.
Survival Instincts
July, 2011 SMM-081
Survival Instincts
Changes in pharma’s market environment will drive the extinction of current business models and the evolution of new ones. What will pharma companies have to do to survive and thrive in this new world? This third in a series of three articles looks at the decisions that the pharmaceutical industry’s leaders face.
Fierce Creatures
June, 2011 SMM-080
Fierce Creatures
Changes in the social and technological environments are radically reshaping pharma’s competitive landscape, driving the extinction of current business models and the evolution of new ones. But what will those new business models look like? This second in a series of three articles looks at the new creatures that will emerge to populate the pharma market of the future.
Evolutionary Theory
May, 2011 SMM-079
Evolutionary Theory
The global pharmaceutical industry is on the brink of huge change, squeezed between what science makes possible and economics makes practical. But what might that change be? If this industry is to continue to make its huge contribution to society, more than speculation and informed guesswork is required; this knowledge-based industry needs to apply science to understanding its own fate. This first in a series of three articles looks at the future for pharma and what that prediction implies.
JMM Research Watch Vol 11.2
April, 2011 JMM-028
JMM Research Watch Vol 11.2
A selection of research drawn from a special issue of the Journal of Marketing Management, focussed on Value Marketing in the Health Care Industry.
Fit Your Market
April, 2011 SMM-078
Fit Your Market
Best practice and benchmarking are buzzwords in pharma marketing effectiveness, but the whole idea is flawed and management research is full of examples of benchmarking and best practice failing in the short term. A more scientific approach to evaluating the effectiveness of marketing strategies will result in plans that work for a specific company. The magic word is contingency.
Resolving the Innovation Paradox of MedTech Procurement: Five Lessons from Research Outcomes
April, 2011 SMM-077
Resolving the Innovation Paradox of MedTech Procurement: Five Lessons from Research Outcomes
Medical technology procurement policies often seem designed to prevent the efficiency improvements they are intended to achieve. Research by EHTI is looking at ways to remedy this contradiction.
JMM Research Watch Vol 11.1
March, 2011 JMM-027
JMM Research Watch Vol 11.1
This selection of research covers the topics of CSR, price regulation and generic competition.
Growing Opportunity
December, 2010 SMM-073
Growing Opportunity
A summary of recently published academic research about growth and innovation that is relevant to pharma marketing.
Pooling Ideas
November, 2010 SMM-072
Pooling Ideas
New research into doctors’ behaviour could force a reappraisal of Key Opinion Leader management, say Dr Brian D Smith and Marcus Bergler in this feature article from Pharmaceutical Marketing.
JMM Research Watch Vol 10.4
October, 2010 JMM-026
JMM Research Watch Vol 10.4
This selection of research covers a wide range of topics, from R & D productivity to how patients perceive risk and from team-based selling to parallel trade.
The Observation Effect
October, 2010 SMM-070
The Observation Effect
This review of published research looks at corporate social responsibility (CSR), including studies of some of the most important companies in the pharmaceutical industry.
Survival of the Fittest
September, 2010 SMM-071
Survival of the Fittest
This review of published research considers varying views on adapting pharma business models to fit the changing environment.
Community Focus
September, 2010 SMM-067
Community Focus
New data suggests that marketers must shift their attention from individual influencers to complex decision-making units, say Dr Brian D Smith and Marcus Bergler, in this feature in Pharmaceutical Marketing.
Seeking Success
August, 2010 SMM-068
Seeking Success
One thing that has become apparent through recent research by Dr Brian D Smith is that many senior industry executives foresee, over the next decade, fundamental change in the sector. This selection of published research looks at several areas that are likely to form part of that transformation.
Risk and Reward
July, 2010 SMM-069
Risk and Reward
From early stage development partnerships to wording adverse event warnings, this crop of peer-reviewed research has lessons from marketers working across the pharmaceutical development spectrum.
Guiding Light
June, 2010 SMM-066
Guiding Light
This Research Roundup issue’s selection of new research reviews published academic research on a wide range of topics including innovation, product development, remuneration and IP.
Reap the Rewards
June, 2010 SMM-065
Reap the Rewards
Market access has become the foundation of most pharmaceutical go-to-market strategies. However, without implementation, strategy is just a fantasy and new research Pragmedic has conducted reveals that many market access plans fail to become reality. More surprisingly, this situation seems to be caused by some of the management practices that are meant to ensure implementation.
Back to the Future
June, 2010 SMM-064
Back to the Future
One of the things that has emerged from Pragmedic’s recent research is that the current pharmaceutical industry landscape is the result of powerful political, economic, technical and social forces. In this article, Dr Brian D. Smith discusses how the pharma industry has been, and will be, shaped by the flows of history.
Managing the changes
May, 2010 SMM-063
Managing the changes
The research reviewed in this article looks at different aspects of change in an attempt to uncover what specific changes augur for how pharmaceutical marketers operate.
Discretion is the better part of value
April, 2010 SMM-062
Discretion is the better part of value
Without effective implementation, strategic planning is a futile exercise. In knowledge-intensive markets, such as those for pharmaceuticals and medical technology, the most important, value-creating parts of strategy implementation rely on the discretionary activity of motivated, committed individuals. This article reviews previous research into individual motivation and commitment and draws from it five recommendations for improving strategy implementation, all of which contradict typical management practice.
JMM Research Watch Vol 10.3
April, 2010 JMM-025
JMM Research Watch Vol 10.3
Dr Brian D Smith reviews research in the field of change management with a view to how this applies in medical marketing.
What’s really going on?
March, 2010 SMM-061
What’s really going on?
Pharmaceutical marketers often have to make decisions without reams of supporting data and it’s hard to imagine a situation in which marketers’ decisions will ever be as evidence-based as, for example, their clinical or scientific colleagues. But it would be unprofessional to hide behind a “we can’t be perfect so let’s not try” attitude.
Spurring Success
January, 2010 SMM-060
Spurring Success
How can we use our knowledge of motivation and commitment to achieve strategy implementation and create value? This article from the Jobs and Careers section of Pharmaceutical Marketing looks at what motivates managers to achieve good strategy implementation.
Break Out
March, 2010 SMM-059
Break Out
Invisible constraints on the company environment can hinder effective strategic change. In this feature article in Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe, Dr Brian Smith looks at institutional theory and applies it to the changing environment of to the global pharmaceutical industry.
JMM Research Watch Vol 10.2
March, 2010 JMM-024
JMM Research Watch Vol 10.2
A review of recent research that reports important findings both about health care systems and the industry.
Seven Deadly Sins of Marketing Excellence
February, 2010 SMM-058
Seven Deadly Sins of Marketing Excellence
Marketing excellence programmes have become ubiquitous. Although going under different names, the urge to improve marketing capabilities has seized most pharmaceutical companies. This is predictable as the industry matures and it becomes harder to differentiate technologically; competitive advantage in future must flow from the ability to segment, position and deliver extended value propositions. Yet if one examines the results of this up-skilling frenzy, the results are disappointing.
Model Answer
February, 2010 SMM-057
Model Answer
Like many models, the famous 4Ps model emerged from consumer marketing research and is still taught with a heavy B2C bias. The principle of a consistent set of variables that creates value for the customer applies just as well in pharmaceuticals, but its effective application needs revision before implementation to modern pharma markets.
Through a Glass Darkly
February, 2010 SMM-056
Through a Glass Darkly
Human beings can only have an imperfect view of the world. As pharmaceutical marketers, this is most obvious when we try to understand the way our business environment is changing. By the time things are clear and obvious, it is too late. This article in Pharmaceutical Marketing’s Research Roundup series highlights how early indications of where the market is heading and how companies learn and react are especially valuable.
Against the Odds
January, 2010 SMM-055
Against the Odds
International research can guide us in adapting to changes in the marketplace. (Part of the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Roundup series.)
The Science of Marketing
January, 2010 SFP-018
The Science of Marketing
Marketing is more science-based than one might realise. Dr Brian D Smith looks at Resource Advantage Theory and how it applies to Marketing.
Multiple Perspectives
December, 2009 SMM-054
Multiple Perspectives
Synthesised research provides useful, practical solutions to management problems. (Part of the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Roundup series.)
Displaced Concepts
November, 2009 SMM-053
Displaced Concepts
Research papers with roots outside pharma consider how channels to market work. (Part of the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Roundup series.)
Turning the Key
November, 2009 SAI-049
Turning the Key
Dr Brian D. Smith and Lindsay Bruce look at how sales teams can make key account and key opinion leader strategies work.
Survival of the Dumbest
December, 2009 SFP-017
Survival of the Dumbest
Definitions of the same management strategy terms can vary significantly. This is important in practice as it can lead to communication problems. There are clear explanations for why and how this ‘dumbing down’ of strategic concepts occurs. Whether we’ll find a solution or simply adapt to live with it remains to be seen.
Maybe I Will, Maybe I Won’t
December, 2009 SAI-048
Maybe I Will, Maybe I Won’t
The full title of this article, published in the Journal of Strategic Marketing, is Maybe I Will, Maybe I Won’t: what the connected perspectives of motivation theory and organisational commitment may contribute to our understanding of strategy implementation. This paper reviews the management problem of marketing strategy implementation and proposes some new perspectives on the subject. It finds that the well-developed research into motivation theory and organisational commitment theory offer useful perspectives on strategy implementation. As an academic paper, it also suggests five postulates and accompanying hypotheses for future empirical work.
Nothing So Practical (Research Watch)
September, 2009 JMM-022
Nothing So Practical (Research Watch)
Responding to those who dismiss theory as the antonym of practical, Kurt Lewin, an American psychologist, was reported to have said that ‘there is nothing so practical as a good theory.’ Not only do I agree, but I pity those who don’t understand the importance of theory in explaining practical, real-life problems. This review of recent literature provides wide-ranging evidence of the value of theory in practice.
Exploratory Study of KOL Management Trends in European Pharmaceutical Companies
September, 2009 SMM-052
Exploratory Study of KOL Management Trends in European Pharmaceutical Companies
Opinion leadership is a well-defined concept. Likely changes in the pharmaceutical sector, consequences of its industry life cycle, are anticipated to make key opinion leader (KOL) management more important still. Despite this, little is known about the scope of KOL management processes in pharmaceutical companies or the trends that those processes may follow in response to industry changes. This article presents the findings of an exploratory, qualitative study involving 18 pharmaceutical company executives with responsibility for KOL management. It suggests that an enhanced, formalised, integrated and IT-enabled model of KOL management will evolve and that many leading companies have extant plans to realise such an approach.
Overcoming “them and us”
November, 2009 SFP-016
Overcoming “them and us”
When we strongly identify with our group, we instinctively identify against people in other groups. However, this persistence of stone-age group identity thinking doesn’t help us in the information age.
Time to put away childish things
October, 2009 SFP-015
Time to put away childish things
It is common to see experienced executives defending outmoded ideas with ferocious determination and irrationality. My research sheds some light on why otherwise intelligent people may revert to such childish behaviour.
Inside the modern salesforce
October, 2009 O2N-008
Inside the modern salesforce
Business to Business (B2B) sales operations is very different from business to consumer (B2C) selling. The traditional salesperson is fast becoming obsolete but, as with many things in management, the picture is much more complex than the headline.
Culture Kaleidoscope
October, 2009 SMM-051
Culture Kaleidoscope
Managing the myriad of perspectives within the marketing team is fraught with complications. It takes skill to manage cultural differences without too much conflict, but to do so is rewarded with better decision making.
Caged Companies
September, 2009 O2N-007
Caged Companies
When was the last time you heard someone in your company or organisation talk about change? Changing strategies, changing business models, changing culture, changing attitudes. Modern management philosophy seems obsessed with change. Yet, if you stick around a while, say five years or more, how much real change do you see?
Spot the Difference
July, 2009 O2N-006
Spot the Difference
If I’m ever invited onto the Today programme and forced to come up with a sound bite about how to spot the difference between successful firms and failures, I think I’d have the answer: Beware of buzzwords and read the research.
Matchmaking process
October, 2009 SM-050
Matchmaking process
Pharmaceutical marketing, it has often been observed, is a matching process – the need to marry the capabilities and limitations of the huge and complex life-sciences knowledge domain with the equally complex needs of patients and healthcare systems. This research review illustrates some of the many facets of this matchmaking process.
Straddling or Focusing: The moment of truth
September, 2009 SFP-014
Straddling or Focusing: The moment of truth
Dr Brian D. Smith suggests that our industry is about to prove or disprove a fundamental academic theory: that straddling generics and innovation is an unsustainable business model. Part of the Strategy Fundamentals series.
An exploratory study of key opinion leadership management trends among European pharmaceutical companies
September, 2009 SMM-049
An exploratory study of key opinion leadership management trends among European pharmaceutical companies
Opinion leadership is a well-defined concept that underpins much marketing practice in the pharmaceutical and other industries. Likely changes in that sector, consequences of its industry life cycle, are anticipated to make key opinion leader (KOL) management more important still. Despite this, little is known about the scope of KOL management processes in pharmaceutical companies or the trends that those processes may follow in response to industry changes. This article presents the findings of an exploratory, qualitative study involving 18 pharmaceutical company executives with responsibility for KOL management. It suggests that an enhanced, formalised, integrated and IT-enabled model of KOL management will evolve and that many leading companies have extant plans to realise such an approach.
The Key to Success
September, 2009 SMM-048
The Key to Success
Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe feature article that discusses the effective management of an increasingly complex network of Key Opinion Leaders.
Good Idea In Theory
September, 2009 SMM-047
Good Idea In Theory
Theory has a bad name among marketers. As the antonym to practical or realistic, it has become a pejorative term that we use to disparage any idea we think has little value. Yet, when we belittle it, we discard a wealth of management research that can, if used properly, make a real difference in business.
Self Promotion
September, 2009 SMM-045
Self Promotion
Marketers should apply strategic marketing tenets to personal development for more lucrative and fulfilling careers.
Across the Breadth
September, 2009 SMM-046
Across the Breadth
A selection of recent academic research that illustrates the huge breadth of topics that marketers are expected to understand – covering everything from branding to forecasting, key account management (KAM) to outsourcing R&D, even war-gaming! (Part of the Research Roundup series in Pharmaceutical Marketing.)
Ask the Oracle
August, 2009 SMM-044
Ask the Oracle
Most of the practical problems faced by pharmaceutical marketers have been answered, at least in part, by published academic research. (Part of the Research Roundup series in Pharmaceutical Marketing)
JMM Research Watch Vol 9.3
July, 2009 JMM-021
JMM Research Watch Vol 9.3
A review of current research for medical marketers. Journal of Medical Marketing volume 9.3
Men from the Boys
July, 2009 SMM-043
Men from the Boys
Research reveals that, despite its willingness, pharma is not meeting the criteria for strong KAM
Key Account Management: Always read the label
July, 2009 SFP-013
Key Account Management: Always read the label
Dr Brian D. Smith traces the origins of key account management and how it applies in pharmaceutical markets.
Too much market focus can be a bad thing
May, 2009 SFP-011
Too much market focus can be a bad thing
It may seem heresy to an MBA-trained executive, but too strong a market focus can be a bad thing.
Research Roundup
July, 2009 SMM-042
Research Roundup
A look at recently published academic research affecting pharmaceutical marketing. Published in Pharmaceutical Marketing July 2009.
Keeping up with KOLs
June, 2009 SFP-012
Keeping up with KOLs
Dr Brian D. Smith looks at the origins and future of key opinion leadership.
JMM Research Watch Vol 9.2
June, 2009 JMM-020
JMM Research Watch Vol 9.2
A review of current research for medical marketers. Journal of Medical Marketing volume 9.2
Myth, Reality & Requirements in Pharmaceutical Key Account Management
June, 2009 SMM-041
Myth, Reality & Requirements in Pharmaceutical Key Account Management
Key Account Management (KAM) is an important approach to the development and maintenance of large accounts, especially in the mature market conditions found in many pharmaceutical and related businesses. However, the meaning and practice and KAM has been blurred and weakened by misuse of the term. This paper identifies five requirements for the application of KAM in pharmaceutical and related markets.
Switching Paths
May, 2009 SMM-040
Switching Paths
For many sales people a few years into their career, the leap from sales to marketing can seem an attractive, perhaps even obvious, step. Yet, as a by-product of our research into how firms make and implement marketing strategies, we find this move often falls short of expectations. The consequences for both the individual and the firm can be serious, so it is worth examining both the underlying reasons for this failure and the practical lessons that come from our observations.
Segmentation: A marketing mirage?
April, 2009 SFP-010
Segmentation: A marketing mirage?
Segmentation is often the answer … except when it isn’t, says Dr Brian D Smith.
Complex Weave
April, 2009 SMM-039
Complex Weave
Value is created at the intersections of many different functions and knowledge domains, says Dr Brian D Smith in this article in Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe.
JMM Research Watch Vol 9.1
March, 2009 JMM-019
JMM Research Watch Vol 9.1
A review of current research for medical marketers Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 9.1.
The name game
March, 2003 RWM-006
The name game
Dr Brian Smith sifts through the latest research on branding.
To boldly go
February, 2003 RWM-005
To boldly go
Dr Brian Smith looks at research which could help you take brave steps into the unknown.
Marketing begins with an R
January, 2003 RWM-004
Marketing begins with an R
New research that shows how relationship marketing has taken a central place in marketers’ thoughts.
Tools of the future
November, 2002 RWM-003
Tools of the future
Research into modern marketing concepts that would have been alien to earlier generations.
Time to embrace complexity
October, 2002 RWM-002
Time to embrace complexity
In seeking effectiveness, there is no single answer. Effectiveness lies in co ordinating sources of competitive advantage around the customer.
Exposing Executive Bias
March, 2009 SFP-009
Exposing Executive Bias
The way we explain things to ourselves helps explain executive behaviour, says Dr Brian D. Smith
Brave the jargon, embrace institutional theory
February, 2009 SFP-008
Brave the jargon, embrace institutional theory
Your company is wrapped in a knot of constraints and pressures, and it’s naive to try to manage without understanding this, says Dr Brian D. Smith as he looks at institutional theory.
A Matter of Definition
February, 2009 O2N-005
A Matter of Definition
Dr Brian D Smith looks at what a market is and why it matters.
(Open University Money & Management Blog)
Promoting a Peaceful Workplace
December, 2008 SFP-007
Promoting a Peaceful Workplace
Conflict between departments costs money, wastes time and hinders strategy implementation. But we can reduce it and manage it if we understand it, says Dr Brian D. Smith
Using the Wooden Spoon
November, 2008 SFP-006
Using the Wooden Spoon
Sometimes the original tools work better than new hi-tech gadgets. Dr Brian Smith considers the value of Ansoff’s 2×2 matrix for pharmaceutical marketers.
The Synergy Mirage
November, 2008 O2N-004
The Synergy Mirage
Dr Brian Smith looks at how firms build synergy
(Open University Money & Management blog)
Schein on culture
October, 2008 SFP-004
Schein on culture
The only cultural change that really works is that which begins with changing core assumptions.
The Value of VRIO
September, 2008 SFP-005
The Value of VRIO
Dr Brian Smith looks at resourced based theory and it’s application to pharmaceutical marketing.
Built on sand
August, 2008 SFP-003
Built on sand
Why does much of the work of market analysts and management teams result in so much data but so little understanding?
Just do it
July, 2008 SFP-002
Just do it
Unsuccessful firms believe the buy-in fallacy; successful firms don’t. They create a strong strategy, then they just do it.
Marrying Companies
July, 2008 O2N-003
Marrying Companies
Dr Brian Smith looks at mergers and acquisitions in the credit crunch.
(Open University Money & Management blog)
Hidden in books
June, 2008 SFP-001
Hidden in books
Senior executives struggle with the implementation of strategy despite the fact that the answers they seek have been known in the field of management science for many years.
JMM Research Watch Vol 8.3
June, 2008 JMM-018
JMM Research Watch Vol 8.3
A review of current research for medical marketers Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 8.3.
JMM Research Watch Vol 8.2
March, 2008 JMM-017
JMM Research Watch Vol 8.2
A review of current research for medical marketers Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 8.2
JMM Research Watch Vol 8.1
January, 2008 JMM-016
JMM Research Watch Vol 8.1
A review of current research for medical marketers Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 8.1
Do It Yourself
April, 2007 RWM-047
Do It Yourself
Dr Brian Smith Reviews some recent research on change in marketing.
Leader of the Pack
November, 2006 RWM-042
Leader of the Pack
Dr Brian Smith reviews an exceptionally rich crop of recent management research, covering management innovation, performance managerment, market orientation and tailoring of marketing activity.
JMM Research Watch Vol 6.4
November, 2006 JMM-011
JMM Research Watch Vol 6.4
A review of current research for medical marketers
Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 6.4
Pay attention, here comes the science bit
October, 2006 RWM-041
Pay attention, here comes the science bit
Dr Brian Smith looks at research papers into the scientific and technological aspects behind marketing.
JMM Research Watch Vol 6.3
October, 2006 JMM-010
JMM Research Watch Vol 6.3
A review of current research for medical marketers
Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 6.3
The Missing Link
September, 2006 RWM-040
The Missing Link
Dr Brian Smith reviews an eclectic mix of research which concludes that competing depends on innovation based on knowledge management that is driven by managerial style.
JMM Research Watch Vol 6.1
July, 2006 JMM-009
JMM Research Watch Vol 6.1
A review of current research for medical marketers
Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 6.1
It’s a Small World
June, 2006 RWM-038
It’s a Small World
Dr Brian smith reveals how the latest research on global marketing makes this imposing topic easier to tackle.
Focused Minds
May, 2006 RWM-037
Focused Minds
Dr Brian Smith reviews some of the recent research into marketing accountability.
Trust No-one
April, 2006 RWM-036
Trust No-one
Market research drives most good marketing, but those who use it would do well to be less trusting and more analytical, suggests Dr Brian Smith in his review of recent academic research in this area.
Back to Basics
March, 2006 RWM-035
Back to Basics
Dr Brian Smith gets controversial about management research – some of the old stuff is better than the new, he says
Doing your best
January, 2006 RWM-034
Doing your best
A review of recent research in the field of professional development finds the subject to be both essential and difficult.
JMM Research Watch Vol 5.4
December, 2005 JMM-008
JMM Research Watch Vol 5.4
A review of current research for medical marketers
Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 5.4
Direct Hit
November, 2005 RWM-033
Direct Hit
Of all the many areas of the marketing profession, direct marketing is perhaps the most affected by what strategists call ‘far environment’ factors such as technology, globalisation and legislation. These changes are reflected in this month’s review of the latest research.
A necessary evil
October, 2005 RWM-032
A necessary evil
Changes in legislation have an important influence on what marketers can and should do. Dr Brian Smith reviews some recent papers focusing on this area which reinforce the importance of legislation in the field of marketing.
Head for heights
September, 2005 RWM-031
Head for heights
Dr Brian Smith discusses research that helps explain why marketing seems to be under-represented in the boardroom and how it can regain political weight by reconnecting marketing strategy to shareholder value.
The Silo Myth
July, 2005 RWM-030
The Silo Myth
In this review of new research, Dr Brian Smith looks at the overlap between Marketing and Human Resources and discovers that these functions should ignore that overlap at their peril.
JMM Research Watch Vol 5.3
July, 2005 JMM-007
JMM Research Watch Vol 5.3
A review of current research for medical marketers
Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 5.3
Taking care of business
June, 2005 RWM-029
Taking care of business
Despite the majority of companies and marketers working in non-consumer sectors, the idea persists that B2B marketing is less sophisticated than its B2C cousin. Dr Brian Smith considers the latest research on B2B marketing.
Guessing Games
May, 2005 RWM-028
Guessing Games
From websites to data mines to R&D, technology is important to marketers. Dr Brian Smith reviews research that looks at how technology is changing marketing.
The Only Way
April, 2005 RWM-027
The Only Way
You cannot practise marketing without using segmentation says Dr Brian Smith in this month’s review of recent research.
JMM Research Watch Vol 5.2
April, 2005 JMM-006
JMM Research Watch Vol 5.2
A review of current research for medical marketers
Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 5.2
Different Strokes
March, 2005 RWM-026
Different Strokes
Dr Brian Smith treads carefully as he sorts through the latest research on gender.
Grub Then Ethics
January, 2005 RWM-024
Grub Then Ethics
In his discussion of the latest research concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR), Dr Brian Smith reflects on the view that ‘you can’t eat principles, but you can taste their fruits’. The latest research suggests CSR is coming of age and provides useful insights for anyone trying to balance the apparently competing demands of investors and CSR.
JMM Research Watch Vol 5.1
January, 2005 JMM-005
JMM Research Watch Vol 5.1
A review of current research for medical marketers
Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 5.1
Hello Shoppers
November, 2004 RWM-023
Hello Shoppers
It seems ironic that we know far more about the many activities that cost us money than we do about our single source of income – the customer. It seems appropriate therefore to look at what the latest research is telling us about the way our customers think.
Show me the money
October, 2004 RWM-022
Show me the money
The marketer’s job is both strategic (deciding how to bring the money in) and tactical (deciding where to spend the marketing communications budget). This Research Watch focuses on the latter and weighs up what is known about the value gained from marketing spend.
Emotional Foods
September, 2004 RWM-021
Emotional Foods
The astronomer Carl Sagan once wisely noted that when we have strong emotions we fool ourselves. Certainly it is a naive marketer who thinks that all purchase decisions are entirely rational and made without emotion, as this month’s crop of new research shows.
IJMM Research Watch Vol 4.3
September, 2004 JMM-003
IJMM Research Watch Vol 4.3
A review of current research for medical marketers
International Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 4.3
Hot Stuff
July, 2004 RWM-020
Hot Stuff
Dr Brian Smith studies the latest research into branding, a subject that continues to be a hot topic with marketers.
Ready for the Quantum Leap
June, 2004 RWM-019
Ready for the Quantum Leap
Ideas and innovation sometimes cause as many problems as they solve; Dr Brian Smith reviews the latest research.
Entertaining All-Comers
May, 2004 RWM-018
Entertaining All-Comers
Marketing is one discipline where you can’t afford to be siloed in your thinking. The latest research says marketers need to understand and juggle ideas from many business functions.
IJMM Research Watch Vol 4.1
January, 2004 JMM-001
IJMM Research Watch Vol 4.1
A review of current research for medical marketers
International Journal of Medical Marketing Volume 4.1
Ammunition for marketers
November, 2003 RWM-013
Ammunition for marketers
How marketers can test and prove that their theories work.
Making assumptions
October, 2003 RWM-012
Making assumptions
New research takes a look at accepted truths and obliterates a few industry myths. Dr Brian Smith wonders why we are so fond of generalisations.
Are you worth the money?
September, 2003 RWM-011
Are you worth the money?
Dr Brian Smith finds research to help marketers measure how marketing contributes to performance.
Are we getting it right?
July, 2003 RWM-010
Are we getting it right?
Marketing information systems tell us about past performance, but how are we performing in real time against competitors who seek the same investors’ capital?
Believing is seeing
June, 2003 RWM-009
Believing is seeing
Beware your own perception; it is often biased.
Making the grey matter work
May, 2003 RWM-008
Making the grey matter work
Dr Brian Smith gathers research about the science of thinking and how it affects corporate activities.
The fatal lessons of boiling a frog
April, 2003 RWM-007
The fatal lessons of boiling a frog
Research focused on the highly topical subject of adapting and reacting to changing market conditions.
An empirical investigation of marketing strategy quality in medical markets
February, 2003 SMM-005
An empirical investigation of marketing strategy quality in medical markets
This is the first in a trilogy of papers reporting a five-year research project into marketing strategy making in medical markets. This paper reports an empirical assessment of marketing strategy quality in eighteen companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and equipment sectors. It concludes that the marketing strategy of many medical companies is weak and that their survival is therefore dependent upon their competitors having even weaker strategies.
Ten steps to success
January, 2003 SAI-002
Ten steps to success
Dr Brian Smith and Professor Malcolm McDonald reveal how to use Strategy Diagnostics to test the strength of your marketing strategy before it is implemented.
The effectiveness of marketing strategy making processes: A critical literature review and a research agenda
November, 2002 SMM-004
The effectiveness of marketing strategy making processes: A critical literature review and a research agenda
This paper contributes to the literature concerning the marketing strategy process. It reviews the extant literature in this field, drawing out areas of consensus and gaps in that literature. The principal gaps identified concern non-rational strategy making processes and the combined implications of internal and external contingencies. Using well-established theories from the sociological perspective of the organisational behaviour literature, this work proposes relevant questions for future research in this field.
Achieving Excellence in CRM
October, 2002 SAI-044
Achieving Excellence in CRM
This is a report of the Cranfield CRM Research Forum’s work in 2001/2, the first year of its operation. The work of the Forum is based upon a research programme that includes both primary and secondary research. The secondary research was used to synthesise a generic model of CRM which broadly but accurately describes the management process better than previous models. This model allows practitioners to understand and create the necessary preconditions for successful CRM in any organisation. It also makes explicit the inputs, outputs and connectivity of the four sub-processes of CRM. The primary research revealed that effective CRM operates within a CRM eco-system defined by both market and organisationally based factors. Awareness of this eco-system allows organisations to avoid wasteful investment in CRM when it is not appropriate to their business situation. The primary research further revealed the evolution of the basic CRM process into five sub-species, each of which was optimally adapted to its particular place in the CRM eco-system. Understanding of this differentiation allows practitioners to define the optimal CRM process for their own situation. This report is in two parts: Firstly, a management report summarising the results of the research; secondly a manual based upon the work. The manual, including software tools, facilitates the development of a CRM process optimised for the particular market and organisational conditions of the reader.
Culture clash
July, 2002 SAI-001
Culture clash
Corporate culture is the biggest barrier to effective marketing and attempts to manage it often fail. Dr Brian Smith reveals how ‘going with the grain’ is often the better way.
Beyond the hype
February, 2002 SAI-040
Beyond the hype
Dr Brian Smith and Dr Moira Clark outline the critical factors for successful customer relationship management. The trick, as ever, is to deduce the sense from the hype which, through a rigorous research programme, is what Cranfield University’s CRM Research Forum aims to achieve.
Managing mergers and acquisitions: Lessons from the consolidation of the medical device and diagnostics industry
September, 2000 SMM-003
Managing mergers and acquisitions: Lessons from the consolidation of the medical device and diagnostics industry
This Clinica Report aids medical device and diagnostic industry managers by gathering, analysing and adding expert opinion to the lessons that have been learned from industry consolidation. The report is structured around the three principal parts of the merger and acquisition process: consideration of merger or acquisition, selection of partners or targets and implementation of the integration process. Each chapter compares the practice of leading players with that of less effective companies and concludes with the lessons practising managers may draw from this comparison.
Lessons for CEOs from the consolidation of the medical device and diagnostic industries
August, 2000 SMM-001
Lessons for CEOs from the consolidation of the medical device and diagnostic industries
This work reports an examination of industry consolidation in the medical device and diagnostic market. It shows that excellent companies are clearly differentiated from their less effective rivals by the care and rigour with which they approach the task. In exemplar companies, mergers and acquisitions arise from profound strategic thinking. Partner or target selection is based on the strategic aims of the deal and integration is based on the synergy realisation objectives inherent in those aims.
Achieving a market-led culture: A case study
August, 2000 SMM-002
Achieving a market-led culture: A case study
This paper describes a challenge common to many medical device companies, that of developing a market-led corporate culture in order to create sustainable competitive advantage. It describes the constraints encountered, the methods employed and the results and lessons that were the outcomes of the process. Its principal lesson is that organisational culture change is possible and rewarding, but slow and difficult. Without a deep knowledge of both culture and marketing, cultural change should not be attempted.
Remote control: understanding what drives your market
February, 2009 SAI-035
Remote control: understanding what drives your market
Writing a strategic marketing plan often begins with situation analysis – the examination of what is going on in the market. Typically, marketers spend more time looking at the task environment (customers, channels, competitors etc.) than the remote environment of social, legal, economic, political, and technological factors. This often leads to plans being written to suit yesterday’s market rather than today’s. Dr Brian Smith and Baba Awopetu discuss how to avoid this mistake by using SLEPT analysis in a structured and effective way.
Life Cycle
February, 2009 SMM-037
Life Cycle
Feature article in Pharmaceutical Marketing Europe: How the pharmaceutical industry has to change to survive.
Make your move
October, 2008 SMM-034
Make your move
Received wisdom has it that a first-mover – the first significant product in a class – has an advantage over its followers. This assumption drives pharma companies to push hard to launch sooner rather than later. My research at the Open University Business School looked for evidence that first-movers make more money than those who follow them into the market and at what the experiences of leaders and followers can teach us about how we manage our products. The answers may surprise you and could help improve brand management.
Calculated Risk
June, 2008 O2N-002
Calculated Risk
Dr Brian Smith looks at why some business ventures are riskier than others. (Open University Money & Management blog)
Driven off course
January, 2008 SMM-030
Driven off course
The greatest marketing strategy ideas cannot impact on sales if they are let down by poor implementation.
Walking the line
January, 2008 SMM-029
Walking the line
It’s not innovating that’s the most difficult – it’s creating value whilst innovating.
Measuring up
December, 2007 SAI-031
Measuring up
The fashion for business metrics has led to many advances. But ‘balanced scorecards’ have their faults. Can we improve on the system? Dr Brian Smith and Professor Keith Ward discuss.
Standing out from the crowd
December, 2007 SMM-031
Standing out from the crowd
For medical technology executives seeking to grow their business, strategy guidance that is industry-specific and research-based is hard to come by. Dr Brian D Smith explores what it is that gives successful companies the edge over others in the medtech market.
Seek First to Understand
October, 2007 SMM-028
Seek First to Understand
Before we attempt to penetrate markets such as India and China, we must first understand how these cultures operate, suggest Dr Brian D. Smith and Abigail W. Jones
Justifying CRM projects in a business-to-business context: The potential of the Benefits Dependency Network
September, 2007 SAI-047
Justifying CRM projects in a business-to-business context: The potential of the Benefits Dependency Network
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) projects often fail. Dr Brian Smith, Professor Moira Clark and Professor Hugh Wilson focus on the project justification process as one way of improving project success rates. They review how the typical combination of an Return On Investment (ROI) calculation and a project plan can have flaws as a project justification approach, and propose the use of the Benefits Dependency Network (BDN) as an additional tool. The second part of the paper reports on an exploratory study of the BDN’s use in five business-to-business CRM projects.
What is Marketing Excellence?
June, 2007 SAI-025
What is Marketing Excellence?
Dr Brian Smith looks at what marketing excellence is and how to get there.
Employer Branding Research (Sunday Times)
June, 2007 SAI-030
Employer Branding Research (Sunday Times)
The war for talent is intensifying, driven by globalisation and the shift to a knowledge based economy. An effective, strategic approach to Human Resources issues is seen by organisations as a necessary precondition for sustainable competitive advantage. Within HR strategy, employer branding is a powerful component capable of helping recruitment, retention and employee engagement. Effective employer branding is based on genuine values and achieved by high-integrity implementation as outlined in this report by Dr Brian Smith published in the Sunday Times.
No Man is an Island
May, 2007 SMM-024
No Man is an Island
CSR is not an isolated process but is linked to all corporate practices. The difficulty pharma has is identifying the benefits of this costly exercise.
Growing Pains
May, 2007 SMM-023
Growing Pains
Understanding what stage of development the pharmaceutical industry is at in its life cycle is essential for marketers to optimize their strategies, explains Dr Brian D. Smith
Extraordinary performances from ordinary people
April, 2007 SAI-024
Extraordinary performances from ordinary people
What constitutes a great leader? The Venturer speaks to two leading business researchers (Dr Brian Smith and Professor Keith Ward) and finds out.
Strategy Making: What works is what fits
March, 2007 SAI-026
Strategy Making: What works is what fits
There isn’t an ideal way of making strategy. The best will fully rreflect a firm’s culture and external relationships.
Strategy is simple, not easy
March, 2007 SAI-023
Strategy is simple, not easy
Dr Brian Smith unravels what strategy is and how to tell the good from the bad.
Excellence in medical marketing: Origins, definition and precursors
March, 2007 SMM-022
Excellence in medical marketing: Origins, definition and precursors
The maturation of markets such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics means that superior strategic marketing skills are now a necessary precondition for competitive advantage in those markets. This paper uses extensive prior research and original empirical work to characterise ‘ Marketing Excellence ‘ and the organisational conditions that are the precursors to achieving it.
Customer Orientation
January, 2007 SAI-022
Customer Orientation
The Finnish Magazine ‘Factor’ interviews Dr Brian Smith about what customer orientation is – now and in the future.
The Marketer’s Stone
June, 2006 SAI-018
The Marketer’s Stone
Turning data into value is difficult, but new research reveals how leading firms manage it. Dr Brian Smith, Dr Hugh Wilson and Professor Moira Clark reveal the secrets of success
As chaves do marketing (in Portugese)
May, 2006 SAI-016
As chaves do marketing (in Portugese)
Novas pesquisas revelam como e que as grandes empresas fazem com que o planeamento de marketing estrate gico resulte com elas
Easy as 1,2,3
May, 2006 SAI-015
Easy as 1,2,3
There are three levels of marketing accountability and great marketers understand them all. Applying rigour at all three levels is what distinguishes a great marketing company from the less great.
The Extra Mile
April, 2006 SMM-016
The Extra Mile
We know that marketing excellence exists, so how are pharma companies expected to achieve it, and what are the differences between ‘normal’ and ‘excellent’ practices?
The Money Pit
March, 2006 SAI-014
The Money Pit
Many marketing strategies destroy shareholder value instead of creating it. In this interview in The Marketer, Dr Brian Smith and his co-authors of Marketing Due Diligence discuss the causes and cures for this worrying situation.
In Theory
March, 2006 SMM-015
In Theory
What should pharma marketers do when faced with the task of creating a successful international strategy with a new chemical entity that may not be a totally new, fully differentiated molecule? Clinging to industry ‘best practice’ may be perceived as a route to success; but an open approach to bespoke marketing theory is more likely to help you shine.
From Data to Value
February, 2006 SAI-046
From Data to Value
This is a report of the Cranfield Customer Management Forum’s work in 2004/5.
Few companies today would define themselves as anything other than knowledge-based. For knowledge-based marketers, the critical issue is how knowledge leads to market insight, drives offer development and creates value. Previous work at Cranfield has defined CRM practice as the use of individual customer data to drive value.
This previous work has also defined the necessary preconditions for effective CRM and the way successful firms adapt CRM to fit their situation. However, this raised further questions, especially about the detail of how firms use data to create value.
As a result, the members of the Cranfield Customer Management Forum asked that this topic be studied further to provide recommendations for best practice in this field.
This task was addressed in two phases, starting with a comprehensive review of previously published research and then testing and probing those areas where the previous work was lacking or unclear. It did so by means of 13 in-depth interviews with firms who were heavily involved in the data-to-value process.
In short, this study reveals that creating value from data has all the difficulty of ‘traditional’, less data-dependent strategy making and some additional challenges. Far from being made easier by information technology, it is made more difficult by the need to find, aggregate and synthesise sources of data that are more numerous and more diverse than in traditional value-creating processes. It is, however, that greater difficulty that promises both greater and more sustainable competitive advantage and hence value.
How do great companies make strategic planning work?
January, 2006 SAI-013
How do great companies make strategic planning work?
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is. Nowhere is this old business saying more true than in strategic planning. Almost all newly-qualified managers face a terrific culture shock when they find that their marketing planning textbooks, even if they are a good prescription, are a very poor description of the reality of business practice. This article is a good introductory summary to Dr Brian Smith’s book “Making Marketing Happen”.
Power Nucleus
December, 2005 SMM-014
Power Nucleus
Knowledge can bring you power, but only by understanding the creation of insight will you wield a potent influence. Research by Dr Brian Smith, Dr Hugh Wilson and Prof Moira Clark uncovers distinct entities in the value creation process.
Binary Growth
October, 2005 SMM-013
Binary Growth
Beneath all the hype, fads and buzzwords, there are some fundamental truths in pharmaceutical marketing. Results are dependent upon differentiation, and pharmacological differentiation is becoming harder, costlier and shorter-lived. Dr Brian Smith and Baba Awopetu ask: can pharma marketers cultivate both attitudes and data to ensure that they blossom in an ever-changing marketplace?
Soak it up
July, 2005 SMM-012
Soak it up
Understanding your customers requires more than immersing yourself in a pool of information on their habits. You need to squeeze the data in the right way.
Punching above your weight
June, 2005 SAI-012
Punching above your weight
Marketing text books are mostly written for mega-corporations who sell to consumers. But what about small businesses who have to sell to giant companies? Just follow nine steps to marketing effectiveness say Lindsay Bruce and Dr Brian Smith
Tricky situation
June, 2005 SAI-011
Tricky situation
Anna Ronay of The Marketer asks Dr Smith about the divide between marketing theory and what happens in real companies. Have the textbooks have got it wrong, or is marketing really as misunderstood as it appears to be? And how can marketers bridge the gap between the way marketing should be practised and what happens in the real world?
The Root of All Good
April, 2005 SAI-010
The Root of All Good
Without good segmentation, all your marketing, from product design to pricing to promotion, is doomed to mediocrity. Whole books are written about the detail of segmentation, but success starts with the fundamentals.
In Hand
April, 2005 SMM-011
In Hand
Shareholder value is not the same as profit; it is a function of both returns and risks. So main board directors concern themselves with the risk-adjusted return on capital. New research on marketing due diligence can reveal if your business plan to create shareholder value is too risky.
How much is your company really worth?
December, 2004 SAI-009
How much is your company really worth?
Investors constantly seek to estimate the likelihood of a business plan delivering its promises, whilst the boards try to demonstrate the strength of their strategy. New research provides insight and tools to do both.
Marketing due diligence: translating marketing strategies into shareholder value
October, 2004 SAI-008
Marketing due diligence: translating marketing strategies into shareholder value
Investors and corporate financiers usually find it hard to assess the shareholder value of a company’s marketing strategies. However, Professor Keith Ward, Professor Malcolm McDonald and Dr Brian Smith of Cranfield School of Management have developed a process that makes this task easier.
Risky business is on the decline
September, 2004 SAI-007
Risky business is on the decline
Is your planned business strategy strong enough to win in a competitive market? To gain investor confidence directors need a way of demonstrating the true value of their business. New research from Cranfield School of Management gives them a tool that does just that, say Dr Brian Smith, Professor Malcolm McDonald and Professor Keith Ward.
Out of Your Comfort Zone
July, 2004 SMM-009
Out of Your Comfort Zone
Five years of research into strategy making in medical markets shows that senior managers in medical industries continue to make weak strategies. Forget the text book approach and what you learned in business school; the outcomes of this research provide new insight into how to make successful strategies in the real world. (Based on Dr Brian Smith’s forthcoming book “Making Marketing Happen”.)
Made to Measure
June, 2004 SAI-006
Made to Measure
Why is it that some companies make marketing happen and others don’t? What do the good companies do that the rest of us don’t? Great companies have learned how to mould strategic marketing planning to their situation and, as a result, create strong marketing strategies that deliver results. Dr Brian Smith explains why some companies do and some companies don’t make great marketing happen.
Culture Couture
April, 2004 SMM-010
Culture Couture
Are pharmaceutical marketing departments helped or hindered by company culture? Dr Brian Smith found that successful culture change involves careful pruning, not a blunt axe.
Making marketing happen: How great medical companies make strategic marketing planning work for them
April, 2004 SMM-008
Making marketing happen: How great medical companies make strategic marketing planning work for them
This is the third in a trilogy of papers reporting a five-year research project into marketing strategy making in medical markets. Following on from the first and second papers, this paper presents an empirically derived process for creating strong marketing strategy in medical markets that involves the replacement of a traditional rational planning process with a hybrid process adapted to organisational culture and market environment. These findings are of practical use to marketers in medical industry sectors.
Understanding the devil
February, 2004 SAI-045
Understanding the devil
This is a report of the Cranfield CRM Research Forum’s work in 2002/3.
The research agenda, shaped and agreed by the Forum’s members, was designed to further the group’;s aim to facilitate excellence in CRM. As such, it sought to answer three research questions that arose from the earlier research, namely:
a) What is the most effective way to organise for CRM?
b) What is the best way to justify CRM investment?
c) How can CRM analytics be improved?
The implications of this work for practitioners are wide ranging and important. CRM is best implemented by the deliberated management of cross functional teams, varied according to project stage and recognising key HR and management prerequisites. CRM is best justified by a process specific to the company involved. Managers can best achieve justification by adapting that process to the internal context of the company. CRM analytics can be improved by the application of motivationally based segmentation. However, the optimal level of value creation is dependent upon data acquisition that is atypical of many organisations.
Getting Motivated
January, 2004 SAI-005
Getting Motivated
Dr Brian Smith explains how real market segments can be uncovered. The key is to understand what drives customer behaviour.
Successful marketing strategies for medical devices and diagnostics
January, 2004 SMM-007
Successful marketing strategies for medical devices and diagnostics
This second edition of the Clinica Report Successful Marketing Strategies for Medical Devices and Diagnostics shows managers in medical device and diagnostic markets how to create sustainable competitive advantage in a clear, step-wise and above all pragmatic way. The guide takes the manager through seven stages to produce an effective and workable strategic marketing plan.
Marketing Due Diligence
October, 2003 SAI-004
Marketing Due Diligence
Dr Brian Smith, Professor Malcolm McDonald and Professor Keith Ward reveal a new process which may help get marketing into the boardroom.
Customer relationship management: Coming of age
October, 2003 SAI-043
Customer relationship management: Coming of age
CRM is plagued by reports of its failure and lack of visible returns. This article shares the results of important research which reveals that, while most fail, a few companies have made a fundamental shift in practice, thereby creating shareholders and customer value.
Why CRM stands at the crossroads
July, 2003 SAI-042
Why CRM stands at the crossroads
Dr Moira Clark and Dr Brian Smith, leaders of the highly regarded Cranfield CRM Research Forum report on its latest findings, which reveal the much-maligned customer management tool is at a critical crossroads.
Building the foundations for effective CRM
July, 2003 SAI-041
Building the foundations for effective CRM
Is Customer Relationship Management an important strategic methodology or just another management fad that should be consigned immediately to the out-tray? Taking time to address some of the more basic questions will pay dividends in establishing a clear, common starting point when deciding whether CRM can benefit your organisation.
Plans are nothing; planning is everything
June, 2003 SAI-003
Plans are nothing; planning is everything
Dr Brian Smith puts the case for marketing planning – what it is, what it isn’t and how to explain it to non-marketing colleagues.
Success and failure in marketing strategy making: Results of an empirical study across medical markets
May, 2003 SMM-006
Success and failure in marketing strategy making: Results of an empirical study across medical markets
This is the second in a trilogy of papers reporting on a five-year research project into marketing strategy making in medical markets. Following on from the weak marketing strategy observed in the first paper, this work explains the origins of marketing strategy process failure in terms of incongruence with market and organisational culture conditions. It concludes that any generic approach to marketing strategy making fails most companies, and that an organisationally tailored process is required.