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Knowledge Sources and International Business Activity in a Changing Innovation Ecosystem: A Study of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2019

Sreevas Sahasranamam*
Affiliation:
University of Strathclyde, UK
Satyanarayana Rentala
Affiliation:
Bharathidasan Institute of Management, India
Elizabeth L. Rose
Affiliation:
University of Leeds, UK
*
Corresponding author: Sreevas Sahasranamam (sreevas.sahasranamam@strath.ac.uk)

Abstract

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has experienced rapid growth, becoming the world's largest provider of generic drugs, based on product and process innovation. The industry has undergone dynamic changes in recent decades, operating in a rapidly evolving environment affected by domestic and global policies; a key example of the latter is the TRIPS agreement. Taking an intellectual property perspective, we describe how changes in the innovation ecosystem have affected companies’ strategies related to international activity and accessing knowledge from both internal and external knowledge sources, during the transitional- and post-TRIPS periods (1995–2004 and 2005–2014, respectively). Combining intellectual property arguments with contextual aspects of the innovation ecosystem, we conjecture that, in the post-TRIPS period, externally-sourced knowledge will be more important than internally-sourced knowledge, for Indian pharmaceutical firms’ international business activity.

摘要

基于产品与流程上的创新,印度制药产业经历了快速发展,目前印度已成为世界上最大的仿制药品供应商。近年来,伴随着国内以及全球政策环境的迅速演变,制药行业也经历了动态变化。其中,主要的全球政策便是TRIPS协定。基于知识产权视角,我们描述了在TRIPS过渡期(1995–2004)和后期(2005–2014),创新生态系统的变化是如何影响企业在国际活动以及获取内外部知识中的策略。结合知识产权观点与创新生态系统的相关文献我们推测,在TRIPS后期,与来自内部的知识相比,来自外部的知识更有利于印度制药公司进行国际商务活动。

Аннотация

Индийская фармацевтическая промышленность переживает бурный рост и становится крупнейшим в мире поставщиком непатентованных лекарств на основе инноваций в сфере продуктов и процессов. В течение последних десятилетий, отрасль претерпела динамические изменения в условиях, которые быстро меняются под влиянием внутренней и глобальной политики; ключевым примером влияния глобальной политики является соглашение по торговым аспектам прав интеллектуальной собственности (TRIPS). С точки зрения вопросов интеллектуальной собственности, мы изучаем то, каким образом изменения в инновационной экосистеме влияют на стратегии компаний, связанные с международной деятельностью и доступом к знаниям из внутренних и внешних источников, в переходный период и в период после соглашения TRIPS (1995–2004 гг. и 2005–2014 гг. соответственно). Принимая во внимание перспективу интеллектуальной собственности и контекстуальные аспекты инновационной экосистемы, мы предполагаем, что в период после соглашения TRIPS знания из внешних источников будут важнее, чем знания из внутренних источников, для международной деятельности индийских фармацевтических компаний.

Resumen

La industria farmacéutica India ha experimentado un rápido crecimiento, convirtiéndose en el proveedor más grande del mundo de drogas genéricas, basada en innovación de producto y proceso. La industria ha tenido cambios dinámicos en las décadas recientes, operando en un entorno de rápida evolución afectado por políticas nacionales y globales; un ejemplo clave de esto último es el acuerdo sobre los ADPIC. Tomando una perspectiva de propiedad intelectual, describimos como los cambios en el ecosistema de innovación han afectado las estrategias de las empresas en relación a la actividad internacional y el acceso a conocimiento tanto de fuentes de conocimiento internas y externas, durante los periodos transicional y post-ADPIC (1995-2004 y 2005-2014, respectivamente). Combinando los argumentos de propiedad intelectual con aspectos contextuales del ecosistema de innovación, conjeturamos que, en el periodo post-ADPIC, el conocimiento externamente obtenido será más importante que el conocimiento internamente conseguido, para las actividades de negocios internacionales de las empresas farmacéuticas indias.

Type
Special Issue: The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in India
Copyright
Copyright © The International Association for Chinese Management Research 2019 

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Footnotes

Accepted by: Guest Editors Suresh Bhagavatula and Ram Mudambi, and Deputy Editor Johann Peter Murmann

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