In search of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit: evidence from the pharmaceutical industry

Author： Rygl David Kittler Markus G. Schuster Tassilo

ISSN： 1740-0589

Source： International Journal of Business Environment, Vol.3, Iss.2, 2010-04, pp. : 179-201

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Abstract

Creativity bundled with entrepreneurial spirit and resulting innovations can be regarded as major prerequisites for the generation of sustainable competitive advantage as well as drivers of firms' R&D activities. Nevertheless, on a global scale, these three prerequisites are often hampered by inflexible organisational structures in global firms. The subsequent article will analyse the organisational structure of selected R&D intense firms of the pharmaceutical industry using social network analysis. The paper will present an in-depth analysis of the firms involved and examine to what extent they provide the proposed structures to foster creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. In order to analyse reciprocity, role differentiation and network architecture (all to be considered as elements of creative and innovative organisations), this paper focuses on the three pharmaceutical firms Roche, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. Results show that not all characteristics of a network organisation are present at the firms analysed.