Effekte von Unternehmenskooperationen auf die Innovation in der Pharmaindustrie

Abstract

The cooperation between pharmaceutical companies - licensing, co-R&D, joint ventures and alliances has long been a feature of this sector. The traditional transaction cost theory and resource-based theory reason it with efficiency, risk/cost-sharing, access to new market, or complementary resources. These explanations are correct but not complete, because the globalization of knowledge has provided new chances and challenges for the firms.The pharmaceutical sector is a knowledge-based sector. The discovery of new drugs needs knowledge from different disciplines. One company can not have all the essential knowledge. Through cooperation with other organizations, it can gain access to the external knowledge. Many firms change their innovation system from a closed model to the open innovation model, in which the internal and external knowledge are combined.This paper examines the effects of cooperation on the innovation of pharmaceutical sector. A knowledge-based view will be proposed which regards knowledge as the strategic asset of a firm. Organizational capabilities are important for the integration of special knowledge and the development of new knowledge. In this paper the indirect effects instead of direct effects of cooperation on innovation will be assumed. The black box of innovation will be opened, which means the integration and transfer of knowledge between the partners. The absorptive capacity, complementary knowledge, trust and evolution of the alliances influence the integration of knowledge. Through literature research and an example of the alliance between Bayer HealthCare and Millennium pharmaceuticals four hypotheses will be developed.