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The Diffusion of Science-Driven Drug Discovery: Organizational Change in Pharmaceutical Research

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  • Iain Cockburn
  • Rebecca Henderson
  • Scott Stern

Abstract

Recent work linking the adoption of key organizational practices to productivity raises an important question: if adoption increases productivity so dramatically, why does adoption across an industry take so long? This paper explores this question in the context of one particularly interesting practice, the adoption of science driven drug discovery by the modern pharmaceutical industry. Over the past two decades, the established pharmaceutical industry has slowly shifted towards a more science-oriented drug discovery: (a) adopters experienced substantially higher rates of R&D after the late 1970s and (b) the rate of adoption across the industry was extremely slow. Motivated by the apparent contradiction between large boosts in performance and slow rates of adoption, this paper characterizes the sources of differences in rates of adoption between 1980 and 1993. The principal finding is that adoption of a science-oriented research approach was a function of initial conditions, or subject to 'state dependence': some firms simply began the sample period at a much higher level of science orientation. Moreover, while these effects attenuated over time, our empirical results suggest that it took more than ten years before adoption was unrelated to initial conditions. In addition, consistent with theories developed in the context of technology adoption, we find that relative diffusion rates depend on the product market positioning of firms. More surprisingly, adoption rates are seperately driven by the composition of sales within the firm. This latter finding suggests the potential importance of differences among firms in terms of the internal structure of power and attention, an area which has received only a small amount of theoretical attention.

Suggested Citation

  • Iain Cockburn & Rebecca Henderson & Scott Stern, 1999. "The Diffusion of Science-Driven Drug Discovery: Organizational Change in Pharmaceutical Research," NBER Working Papers 7359, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7359
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    Cited by:

    1. Ramani, Shyama V., 2002. "Who is interested in biotech? R&D strategies, knowledge base and market sales of Indian biopharmaceutical firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 381-398, March.
    2. Tse, Chung Yi, 2002. "The diffusion of knowledge and the productivity and appropriability of R&D investment," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 303-331, February.
    3. Paul A. Davi & dDominique Foray & CNRS and Institut pour le Management de la Recherche et de l`Innovation & Paris-Dauphine University, 2001. "An Introduction to the Economy of the Knowledge Society," Economics Series Working Papers 84, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    4. Beath, John & Owen, Robert F. & Poyago-Theotoky, Joanna & Ulph, David, 2003. "Optimal incentives for income-generation in universities: the rule of thumb for the Compton tax," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(9), pages 1301-1322, November.
    5. Cassiman, Bruno & Veugelers, Reinhilde & Zuniga, Pluvia, 2009. "Diversity of science linkages and innovation performance: some empirical evidence from Flemish firms," Economics Discussion Papers 2009-30, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    6. Lee Branstetter & Kwon Hyeog Ug, 2004. "The Restructuring Of Japanese Research And Development: The Increasing Impact Of Science On Japanese R&D," Discussion papers 04021, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    7. BELDERBOS, René & GILSING, Victor & SUZUKI, Shinya, 2015. "Direct And Mediated Ties To Universities: ‘Scientific’ Absorptive Capacity And Innovation Performance Of Pharmaceutical Firms," Discussion paper series 2015-06, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Hitotsubashi University.
    8. Jacqueline Senker, 2006. "Biotechnology Alliances in the European Pharmaceutical Industry: Past, Present and Future," SPRU Working Paper Series 137, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    9. Lee Branstetter & Yoshiaki Ogura, 2005. "Is Academic Science Driving a Surge in Industrial Innovation? Evidence from Patent Citations," NBER Working Papers 11561, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Peter Howitt, 2013. "From Curiosity to Wealth Creation: How University Research can Boost Economic Growth," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 383, June.
    11. Cassiman, Bruno & Veugelers, Reinhilde & Zuniga, Pluvia, 2007. "Science linkages and innovation performance: An analysis on CIS-3 firms in Belgium," IESE Research Papers D/671, IESE Business School.
    12. Shin, Seungryul Ryan & Lee, Jisoo & Jung, Yura Rosemary & Hwang, Junseok, 2022. "The diffusion of scientific discoveries in government laboratories: The role of patents filed by government scientists," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    13. Jan W. Rivkin, 2001. "Reproducing Knowledge: Replication Without Imitation at Moderate Complexity," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(3), pages 274-293, June.
    14. Rene Belderbos & Bart Leten & Shinya Suzuki, 2009. "Does Excellence in Academic Research Attract Foreign R&D?," Global COE Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series gd09-079, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    15. Lee Branstetter & Reiko Aoki, 2005. "Is Academic Science Raising Innovative Productivity? Theory and Evidence from Firm-Level Data," Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series d05-86, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    16. Santiago-Rodriguez, Fernando, 2010. "Human resource management and learning for innovation: pharmaceuticals in Mexico," MERIT Working Papers 2010-002, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
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    19. Josh Lerner & Julie Wulf, 2007. "Innovation and Incentives: Evidence from Corporate R&D," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(4), pages 634-644, November.
    20. Robert S. Huckman, 2003. "The Utilization of Competing Technologies Within the Firm: Evidence from Cardiac Procedures," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(5), pages 599-617, May.
    21. Dominique Foray & Martin Woerter, 2021. "The formation of Coasean institutions to provide university knowledge for innovation: a case study and econometric evidence for Switzerland," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(5), pages 1584-1610, October.
    22. Aija Leiponen, 2005. "Core complementarities of the corporation: organization of an innovating firm," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 351-365.
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    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production

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