Marketing planning and perceived effectiveness of pharmaceutical firms: |a comparative study between domestic and multinational companies in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to empirically determine the differences between the marketing applications and perceived effectiveness of Turkish and subsidiaries of multinational pharmaceutical firms. The multinational companies have evolved into a major phenomenon in the past few decades. Their activities have become quite significant for development of industries. The multinationals are also regarded as means for advancing especially in developing countries because they provide technology as well as create job opportunities. On the other hand, the main motives for establishing multinational corporations are access to raw materials, lower manufacturing costs, and desirable environmental conditions. The comparison of domestic and multinational companies have been studied in the pharmaceutical industry because the multinational subsidiaries are among the prominent manufacturers. A total of 20 companies, including all of the seven subsidieries operating in the industry, were studied. The companies considered achieved approximately 80 per cent of the total industry sales. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire that comprised certain questions related to measuring marketing effectiveness as perceived by company managers and the organization of marketing practices as well as those directed to only the multinational subsidiaries to explore the scope of their worldwide spread and level of control exerted by the parent organization. The questionnaire. was administered through personal interviews, hoewer the respondents completed the section on marketing effectiveness items themselves in order to reduce the response bias. Managers responsible for the marketing or sales departments were interviewed in most of the companies. Findings of the study indicate that some differences exist between Turkish and multinational firms. Foreign firms tend to consider a whole marketing system view encompassing suppliers. channels of distribution, competitors. customers. and environment in planning their business. Secondly; the multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers have made it a regular practice to develop both detailed annual and long-term marketing plans. Thirdly, the multinational companies perceive themselves to have competitive advantage with respect to product quality and in general. considering all of the marketing functions. Also. differences become apparent in terms of the companies' promotion systems. as well as the organization of their marketing departments. and their attitude toward expected changes in price determination. The research is guiding for both domestic and multinational companies. Local companies can idenfiy their weknesses in terms of marketing effectiveness while multinational companies may benefit from the findings when entering the Turkish market or setting strategies for future developments.