Hidden benefits of a collaborative R&D alliance in the pharmaceutical industry: The case of Schering AG and Novo Nordisk A/S
Ekkehard Brockstedt
R&D Project Management, SANKYO PHARMA GmbH, Munich, Germany
Chris Carr
Chair of Corporate Strategy, University of Edinburgh Management School, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
PP: 463 - 467
Abstract
In addition to the anticipated advantages of a collaborative R&D alliance, we argue that a number of valuable hidden benefits can arise from the process of a partnership itself.
Hidden benefits can come in the form of innovations derived from preparing and organising the collaborative R&D alliance, the potential for improvement exposed in applying existing expertise to a new situation, the dynamic network generated by the collaborative R&D alliance itself, and the stimulating challenge of competition to parts of the organisation that are normally shielded from it.
This case study focuses on the exploitation of the above hidden benefits within a well-planned collaborative R&D alliance between two pharmaceutical companies, Schering AG and Novo Nordisk A/S.
Keywords
R&D management; pharmaceutical companies; collaborative R&D alliance; virtual integration strategy, cross cultural innovation; organisational innovation; dynamic network
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