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Crisis management in pharmaceuticals: evidence from Greece

Constantinos‐Vasilios Priporas (Department of Marketing and Operations Management, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece)
George Vangelinos (Genesis Pharma, Thessaloniki, Greece)

International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing

ISSN: 1750-6123

Article publication date: 27 June 2008

1793

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the practice, prevention, and problems pharmaceutical companies face with respect to crisis management (CM). The pharmaceutical sector is considered to be the most crisis prone of all industries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is exploratory in nature and data were collected by carrying out semi‐structured in‐depth interviews with key managers in 16 pharmaceutical companies. The open‐ended questions were content analyzed.

Findings

Respondents identified product recall as the major reason for business crisis in pharmaceutical companies. Also, the results revealed that the large‐sized companies had CM departments or had collaborated with consulting firms.

Research limitations/implications

This is a limited exploratory study restricted to one country. However, Greece's pharmaceutical expenditure is above the average in OECD countries. Suggestions are presented for future studies and especially for generalization of the findings.

Practical implications

Today's business environment requires a robust, enterprise‐wide plan to deal with crises, especially in pharmaceutical companies where a “mistake” can lead to civilian casualties.

Originality/value

This study offers empirical findings from pharmaceutical companies, where studies are limited and broadly confirms the findings and conclusions of earlier studies in other industries in the international context.

Keywords

Citation

Priporas, C. and Vangelinos, G. (2008), "Crisis management in pharmaceuticals: evidence from Greece", International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 88-102. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506120810887899

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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