The Impact of Information Systems on Management Performance in the Pharmaceutical Industry

There are many aspects that should be considered while implementing ISs in pharmaceutical companies. This is due to the various regulations and standards that the governmental authorities impose on these companies. In addition, any audit from US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other authorities will require computer system validation to be performed for the implemented ISs to ensure that all areas that affect the drugs lifecycle are following the required standards, and that each single process in this lifecycle is validated. Unfortunately, many pharmaceutical companies didn't recognize yet the importance of ISs to their businesses. The research presented in this paper examines the value of using an information system (IS) in pharmaceutical environment and how it can be a key component of improving the operational and process effectiveness by supporting the strategic decisions and enabling the decision-makers to take their decisions in short time. Lack of information in pharmaceutical companies is one of the reasons why these companies will not be able to compete in this competitive market because the delays in taking decisions, product lifecycle, and supply chain. Pharmaceutical companies required to follow various regulations and standards, and ISs are the tools that can be mapped to these standards and control the business operations without any obstacles. The authors conducted a comprehensive study to investigate the role of ISs in the pharmaceutical industry through a review of existing literatures relevant to the research subject and through a questionnaire survey with 54 participants working in the pharmaceutical industry in different countries in the Middle East. The survey aimed to understand the present status of ISs in pharmaceutical companies and the impact of ISs on management performance, operation improvement, end-users productivity, and compliance with the regulations and standards of the pharmaceutical industry in their companies. Moreover, the survey also aimed to identify the catalysts behind successful implementation of ISs.