Research on management issues in the pharmaceutical industry: a literature review

Purpose - This paper aims to present a review of literature to assess the progress of research on managerial issues in the pharmaceutical industry globally. Design/methodology/approach - Literature from peer-reviewed journals available on online databases was collected for the last decade, using the keyword search technique, and then classifying it according to major managerial issues, research methodologies used and geographical zones. Findings - Behavioral issues at the consumer/physician level and non-behavioral issues in pricing and medical expenses are studied the most, followed by supply chain management, research and development and manufacturing and services operations management. There is scope for conjunction of research efforts across themes and players. The studies focus on the developed nations through the application of field research and mathematical modeling techniques. The studies in the American region focus more on development and marketing while studies in Europe are aligned towards manufacturing and distribution in the industry. Studies in the developing nations are mostly exploratory in nature and require more focus on issues of research and development and marketing in addition to a substantial increase in overall research efforts. More trans-continental studies are needed to consolidate research efforts globally. Research limitations/implications - The review is not exhaustive of all studies available on the industry and each of the issues. Conference papers, unpublished material and lectures were excluded. Practical implications -Identification of the present and emerging issues together provides practitioners in healthcare systems with an idea of available techniques and strategies to solve problems in healthcare/pharmaceutical management. Originality/value - A study on research of management issues in the pharmaceutical industry across the world has perhaps not been conducted in the recent past: this paper fills part of that gap.