From Basic Research to Competitiveness: An Econometric Analysis of the Global Pharmaceutical Sector

A comprehensive study on Industry 4.0 in the pharmaceutical industry for sustainable development

The four evolutionary stages have brought us to Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 is nothing but the 4th Industrial Revolution which will change the production processes. The implementation of Industry 4.0 in the pharmaceutical sector will make the manufacturing of complex drugs easier. The arrival of Industry 4.0 and its advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) makes the processes flexible. Industry 4.0 was introduced to reduce the human workforce and make the complicated processes unchallenging. It is used in all aspects of pharmaceutical sector like analysis, diagnosis, manufacturing, and packaging. The main aim of this paper is to comprehensively elucidate how Industry 4.0 has played a significant role in sustainable development (SD). Industry 4.0 in sustainability decreases the research efforts and examines the research sector's opportunities. This paper also discusses the impact of Industry 4.0 on sustainable development. Industry 4.0 constructs a bridge between industry and sustainability leading to sustainable development. Sustainability can be achieved by adopting innovative techniques of Industry 4.0 in manufacturing. Moreover, Industry 4.0 provides potential benefits for enhancing pharmaceutical production concerning flexibility, expenses, standards, and safety. It is noticed that Industry 4.0 has a beneficial impact on sustainable development by implementing advanced technologies leading to flexible manufacturing processes.

Do Supply Chain Performance Influence Firm Profitability? A Predictive Approach in the Context of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

The competitive nature of the pharmaceutical industry necessitates that its multifaceted supply-chain be cost-efficient and profitable. This paper aims to ascertain the critical supply-chain financial indicators influencing pharmaceutical-supply-chain (PSC) performance, revealing its unique features and assessing these indicators’ effect on profitability.

This paper measures the PSC performance of 55 public-limited Indian pharmaceutical firms, including multinational enterprises, integrating supply-chain financial variables and SCOR KPIs through a ten-year timeline. The critical supply-chain-performance indicators (SCPIs) are identified from the measured set through factor analysis. A panel data random effect model is developed, linking these critical SCPIs and profitability to understand their significant influence on profitability.

This paper has evidenced the existence of three critical SCPIs, revealing working capital efficiency, material flow efficiency and investment efficiency. It has also proved the significant influence of these SCPIs on firms’ profitability and has brought out the importance of material flow efficiency in terms of inventory and distribution efficiency as a leading contributing factor for profitability.

This paper contributes to finding key PSC performance features and their vital role in pharmaceutical firms’ profitability. Supply-chain managers can enhance PSC’s specific performance areas to be cost-efficient and can increase the firm’s profitability.

Innovation and Scientific Research as a Sustainable Development Goal in Spanish Public Universities

One of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 is building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and fostering innovation. This paper aims to analyse the possible consequences of stimulating commercial exploitation of academic research, encouraged by recent policy initiatives and legislative changes, on the quantity and quality of scientific knowledge in Spain’s public universities. We collected data of innovation variables (national patents, R&D and consultancy agreements, services rendered, licenses and PCT extensions and spin-offs), publications and number of citations for 48 Spanish public universities in 2009–2018 from Observatorio IUNE, which obtains data from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, the Network of Research Results Transfer Offices and Web of Science. The results of linear regressions models showed that universities that render more services and have a greater number of PCTs (patent cooperation treaties), have a positive impact on the quantity and quality of the publications in Spanish universities. However, the number of national patents has no impact on the scientific output. Finally, universities with a greater number of patents have a lower number of citations.

The Influence of the Knowledge-Based Network Structure Hole on Enterprise Innovation Performance: The Threshold Effect of R&D Investment Intensity

The purpose of innovation is to consume fewer natural resources in order to create sustainable performance; therefore, innovation can ease the pressure of the ecological load and promote the sustainable development of the economy. Taking the 269 enterprises listed on the main board of the electronic information industry from 2010 to 2019 as samples, using the threshold panel data model, the nonlinear relationship between the knowledge-based network structure hole and the short-term and long-term innovation performance of the enterprises were studied, and the threshold effect of R&D investment intensity was discussed. When the R&D investment intensity is from 1.96% to 15.96%, the knowledge-based network structure hole has a significant positive impact on short-term innovation performance. When the R&D investment intensity is from 5.72% to 10.64%, the knowledge-based network structure hole has a significant positive effect on long-term innovation performance. Lower R&D investment intensity can make the knowledge-based network structure hole promote the increase of short term innovation performance, but to make the knowledge-based network structure hole have a positive impact on long term innovation performance, the R&D investment intensity should be increased by more than 5.72%. When R&D investment intensity is not higher than 15.96%, the knowledge-based network structure hole has a significant positive impact on short term innovation performance, but to make the knowledge-based network structure hole maintain the positive effect on long term innovation performance, R&D investment intensity should not exceed 10.64%. Therefore, enterprises should be guided to optimize the knowledge-based network structure according to the R&D investment intensity in order to improve the short term and long-term innovation performance of an enterprise. These research results can help enterprises to save resources and promote the sustainable development of the economy.

Corporate Social Performance: An Assessment Model on an Emerging Market

This paper investigates the priorities governing large companies in an emerging market regarding corporate social performance (CSP). The authors propose profile patterns of responsible managerial behavior and a framework for evaluating CSP relying on stakeholder theory. The study relies on a statistical analysis which is designed to examine the significance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice as it emerges from company business strategies. Taking the form of an empirical study involving 87 managers, this work relies on the cluster analysis theory, identifying six behavioral patterns when considering CSR practices: “lethargic”, “compliant, “pragmatist”, “auditor”, “formalist”, and “performer”. The cluster typology indicates the complexity of CSR practices and highlights the role of CSR in company strategy development. The proposed assessment model is intended to empower CSP diagnosis, while supporting management towards achieving sustainable growth.