Corporate intelligence in biotechnology.
'Know thy neighbor' is a critical component of today's biotechnology practice. The industry is extremely rich in science and business information, and the pace of change is dramatic. Successful participation in biotechnology will always depend on good technology, management and money. In addition, an ingredient that needs more attention is competitive information- gathering and analysis. Competitive intelligence can be defined as actionable information that requires the ability to filter and synthesize relevant knowledge for the benefit of the company. Why is this necessary? How can it be done well? What examples are there? These are good questions that are inevitably faced by all biotechnology practitioners, and some answers are provided herein.
The contribution of CI to the strategic decision making process: Empirical study of the European pharmaceutical industry.
The practice of Competitive Intelligence (CI) is common in the US pharmaceutical industry but there is little evidence to suggest that the European industry has adopted CI to the same extent. This study reports on a specific sub-set of the overall CI activity, namely the contribution which CI makes to the strategic decision making (SDM) process. CI managers in the European pharmaceutical industry were selected and the results from 79 questionnaires and 14 in-depth interviews are provided. Results indicate that the CI activities in respondent firms are reasonably well established and also that the pharmaceutical industry appears to appreciate both the benefits, and requirements of a modern day CI function. However, the industry is not taking full advantage of the CI effort at every stage of the SDM process. Conclusions are drawn which highlight areas for potential improvement. The article also identifies the managerial implications from the findings with suggestions for further research topics associated with this area.
Theorising heterosexuality : telling it straight
Heterosexuality and social theory heterosexuality and feminist theory heterosexuality and domestic life heterosexuality and social policy heterosexuality and the desire for gender recognition and heterosexual desire heterosexuality and masculinity - theorizing male power or the male wounded psyche? which one's the man? - the heterosexualization of lesbian sex in the same boat? - the gendered (in)exeperience of first hetero-sex collusion, collaboration and confession - on moving beyond the heterosexuality debate.