A Big Data strategy to reinforce self-sustainability for pharmaceutical companies in the digital transformation era: A case study of Egyptian pharmaceutical companies

The Big Data-driven economy has emerged, and data is known as the new petroleum of the current century. Big Data (BD) analytics can play an essential role in building a self-sustainable competitive advantage for the pharmaceutical industry by feeding pharmaceutical drug corporations with different directions, patterns, and behaviours of the health’s ecosystem. Unfortunately, many Egyptian local pharmaceutical companies use obsolete strategies to create a standalone competitive advantage. Most of these firms face numerous challenges in adopting a smart strategy based on BD analytics. This research provides an overview of the barriers that hinder the full utilization of BD analytics in local Egyptian pharmaceutical firms. These obstacles are categorized into four groups: culture, strategies, technology and processes. A descriptive analysis methodology was applied to create an in-depth understanding of BD challenges. The qualitative study consists of two approaches: case-analysis study and semi-structured interviews. Furthermore, we suggest a comprehensive strategy that includes five phases (Analysis, Benchmark, Design, Implement, and Evaluate). This strategy is an advanced adaptation of the digital transformation maturity model and can be used as a guideline to effectively adopt and utilize the BD analytics approach.