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Launching a new product successfully in a multi-brand portfolio is one of the major challenges a pharmaceutical marketer faces. This study aims to examine the role of detailing of new brands on physicians’ prescription behaviour as compared to established brands. Further, the study explores mediating role of detailing priority and detailing time on the relationship between detailing of new versus established brands and physician’s prescription behaviour.

This study was conducted as a real-world observational study involving field research. In total, 338 physicians, 90 PSRs and 44 field managers participated in this study. A serial mediation model (Hayes, Model 6) was used to examine the relationship. Regression analysis with bootstrapping was used to test the hypotheses.

Detailing of new versus established brands has a differential effect on physicians’ prescription behaviour. In addition, this relationship is serially mediated by detailing priority and detailing time.

Results suggest that detailing priority and detailing time positively and significantly alter the relationship between the detailing of new brands and physicians’ prescription behaviour as compared to established brands. While, in the absence of mediators, established brands generate higher prescriptions than new brands, the serial mediating effect helps new brands to generate more prescriptions as compared to established brands.

This research highlights the importance of detailing priority and detailing time for the successful launch of the new products. It presents compelling evidence for practicing managers to effectively use a “predetermined detailing plan” vis-à-vis “individualized detailing strategy” during the launch of a new brand.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the role of detailing priority and detailing time as mediators between the relationship of detailing and physicians’ prescription behaviour. This is also one of the rare studies to use real-world observational study methodology for conducting research.

This study has four objectives. First is to investigate and compare the immediate and carryover effects of four pharmaceutical marketing tools (prescriber detailing, medical events, journal ads and direct-to-consumer advertising [DTCA]) on sales. Based on the effect comparisons, the second objective is to determine whether advertising tools that are more compatible with prescriber’s behavior have superior impact on sales. Third is to examine empirical support for the argument that advertising directly to consumers, as a market follower versus leader, has a backfiring effect. Finally, this paper aims to assess the magnitude of variance in sales as a function of each advertising tool.

Data on unit sales and spending (on DTCA, journal ads, events and detailing) ranging 84 months are obtained for six prescription-only cholesterol-reducing brands. First, linearity is checked. Second, evolution versus stationarity is tested by applying the unit-root test. Third, potential endogeneity among variables is assessed with granger causality. Fourth, vector autoregressive model (VAR) that accounts for endogeneity and dynamic interactions is specified. Intercept, seasons and market share are added into the model specification as exogenous variables. Fifth, VAR with akaike selected lags and generalized impulse response are conducted. Finally, sales variance is decomposed with forecast error variance decomposition and Cholesky ordering.

A 10% increase on detailing or journal ads spending brought an immediate (one month) negative effect on sales in a market leader, whereas that same increase is insignificant in a market follower. A 10% increase on DTCA (vs detailing) spending led to a negative (vs positive) carryover effect for the market follower, giving empirical support to the backfiring effect of DTCA and partial evidentiary support suggested about prescriber friendly advertising. However, DTCA induces a larger short term and longer carryover effect in a market leader, with seven times more effect on sales than what detailing does. In addition, it explains 50% of the variation in sales.

The model applied captures extensive dynamics; hence, findings are robust. The analysis considered comparison in terms of prescriber friendly (vs not) advertising tools and brand market status and thus can make managers rethink strategy of advertising budget allocations. This study also introduced a new look onto DTCA and hence challenges the traditional thought held on consumer advertising response.

The purpose of this study is to unearth the factors influencing the scope and acceptability of E‐detailing concepts recently started by domestic as well as multinational companies in India.

The objective is to capture views of pharmaceutical company personnel about E‐detailing to understand factors influencing acceptance and execution of E‐detailing as a marketing communication tool. This study is based on primary data collected from the Delhi/NCR area of India. To analyze the data, an attempt is made to identify latent factors that influence various measurable characteristics. Gonzalez and Bello's approach is used in factor analyzing the responses to identify prominent influencing factors behind the adoption of E‐detailing by pharmaceutical companies.

As viewed by the company personnel, managerial readiness, operational capabilities, audience acceptance and market accessibility are the most important factors responsible for proper acceptability of E‐detailing program. Other motivators are convenience mode of communication, brand acceptance in the market, a deep relationship development with target physicians. This has a positive impact on the profit curve of the companies.

Results from this study will help pharmaceutical companies operating in India to understand factors influencing scope and acceptability of E‐detailing as an important marketing communication tool. Pharmaceutical companies may chart their strategic communication roadmap in line with the same.

In this paper, we have identified factors responsible for acceptance and execution of E‐detailing as a pharmaceutical marketing communication tool. These factors may be tested in different countries and intensity may be analyzed beyond country boundaries.

Purpose – In this chapter, we outline early sociological thinking on time rooted in various philosophies of time and review the relatively current research in the area of temporal perspective. Next, we define the scope of the social psychology of time and illustrate how and why social psychology has failed to properly and effectively include time as a central component of study. Finally, we link current thinking about time to group processes research, most directly to identity and social identity processes (though not exclusively), making clear the ways current and future approaches could benefit from including temporal perspectives.

Methodology – We review relevant research engaged with concepts related to time in psychology, sociology, and social psychology. On the foundation of our review and the identification of gaps in the literature, we provide insights and recommendations regarding how temporal perspectives may be adopted by existing knowledge bases in sociological social psychology.

Findings – As a conceptual chapter, this work presents no empirical findings. A review of the literature reveals a scarcity of research effectively embedding temporal perspectives in major areas of social psychological research.

Practical Implications – The recommendations we make for connecting temporal perspectives to existing research areas provide a practical foundation from which to develop new ideas.

Social Implications – This work contributes to the social psychology of time by detailing how time is an important, yet mostly overlooked, component to our understandings of many social psychological processes. In the effort to extend identity and social identity theory in specific, we add to the general knowledge of the self and self-processes via the incorporation of temporal perspectives.

Originality – This work is the first to explore how temporal perspectives in sociological social psychology are employed, but mostly, how they are underutilized. We make recommendations for how novel theoretical predictions may emerge by including perspectives about time in existing research programs.

Investigates some of the programs available for checking that links within web pages are still valid. Each individual program is discussed detailing features, cost and technical requirements. A section on features allows the reader to locate programs for specific functions, recommendations are provided for the best programs to use.

The study of family mobilities necessitates an examination of how practices are orchestrated in time as well as space. Conventional approaches to the study of family time use either quantitative analysis of time-use data or qualitative studies of time pressure and work/life balance. The limitation with these approaches is that they assume a rather static family structure that is dominated by parents with young children. Moreover, these studies do not capture the dualistic quality of time; that time constitutes and is a constituent of family life. In this chapter, I use one-day diaries on organising and experiencing time, collated as part of the UK Mass Observation Project in Autumn 2017, to interrogate the relationality of family time. The analysis examines how family practices maybe sequential, synchronous, planned or serendipitous and how these different temporalities permeate the busyness of time pressure. These one-day accounts confirm how time is experienced through and by family and intimate relationships.

THIS article is an attempt to explain the way in which the actual servicing schedules now used by the Royal Air Force are evolved and also to give an outline of the organization necessary for this work. The whole field of R.A.F. planned flying and planned maintenance has already been very effectively covered by S/Ldr Harrop's paper and this present article contains a more detailed account of some of the practical problems involved in the one aspect of the production of schedules.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a simulation-based value function (VF) that combines multiple key performance indicators (KPIs) into a unified Sigma rating (SR) for system-level performance assessment and improvement.

Simulation is used as a platform for assessing the multiple KPIs at the system level. A simple additive VF is formed to combine the KPIs into a unified SR using the analytical hierarchy process and the entropy method. Value mapping is utilized to resolve the conflict among KPIs and generate a unified value. These methods are integrated into the standard Six Sigma define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) process.

Simulation results provided the Six Sigma DMAIC process with system-level performance measurement and analysis based on multiple KPIs. The developed VF successfully generated unified SRs that were used to assess various performance improvement plans.

The accuracy and credibility of the results obtained from using the proposed VF are highly dependent on the availability of pertinent data and the accuracy of the developed simulation model.

The proposed approach provides Six Sigma practitioners and performance mangers with a mechanism to assess and improve the performance of production and service system based on multiple KPIs when conducting Six Sigma studies.

This paper contributes to the previous research by handling multiple KPIs in Six Sigma studies conducted at the system level using simulation and VF. The research also provides guidelines for using the different methods of weights assessment to form the VF within the DMAIC process.

International competition is driving manufacturing executives to place an ever‐growing importance on the formulation of computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) strategies as part of their corporate plans. Structured analysis and design techniques, in particular IDEF (Integrated Computer Aided Manufacturing definition method), are becoming a vital tool in the analysis and implementation of such CIM strategies. This article positively demonstrates the technique and its ability to model the link between design and manufacture in a CIM environment. The approach relates interdependencies of planning for manufacture, design and process planning within a CIM strategy. In particular it establishes the position of computer aided process planning (CAPP) in CIM architecture and evaluates a CAPP package as a potential element of a CIM strategy. The application to which IDEFo, in particular, has been used clearly demonstrates its usefulness to manufacturers as a powerful aid to the development of detailed CIM strategies.

Output from the Irish Dairy Industry has grown rapidly since the abolition of quotas in 2015, with processors investing heavily in capacity expansion to deal with the extra milk volumes. Further capacity gains may be achieved by extending the processing season into the winter, a key enabler for which being the reduction of duration of the winter maintenance overhaul period. This paper aims to investigate if Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques can be used to enhance operational maintenance performance, thereby releasing additional processing capacity.

Combining the Six-Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology and the structured approach of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) widely used in process industries creates a novel hybrid model that promises substantial improvement in maintenance overhaul execution. This paper presents a case study applying the DMAIC/TAM model to Ireland’s largest dairy processing site to optimise the annual maintenance shutdown. The objective was to deliver a 30% reduction in the duration of the overhaul, enabling an extension of the processing season.

Application of the DMAIC/TAM hybrid resulted in process enhancements, employee engagement and a clear roadmap for the operations team. Project goals were delivered, and original objectives exceeded, resulting in €8.9m additional value to the business and a reduction of 36% in the duration of the overhaul.

The results demonstrate that the model provides a structure that promotes systematic working and a continuous improvement focus that can have substantial benefits for wider industry. Opportunities for further model refinement were identified and will enhance performance in subsequent overhauls.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and tools of DMAIC and TAM have been combined into a hybrid methodology and applied in an Irish industrial setting.