Strategy, a so small word but with such great importance as good handling can lead a company either to prosperity or to total disaster. Strategy is a term that cannot be easily explained in a few words as it involves planning, decision making, achievement of goals and consideration of environmental factors (Nollet, et. al. 2005). Strategy is very important as it is a means through which the company will try to experience financial growth, will strive to gain a position into the market, and will try to eliminate its competitors (Thompson, & Strickland, 2003).
In the current study strategic assessment of the pharmaceutical industry in Greece that produces generic drugs will be conducted. The first part of the study will focus on issues concerning trends, principal strategic groups, industry life cycle analysis, threats and opportunities (SWOT) as well as political and legal influences that the industry has to face (PESTLE), whereas in the second section Porter's five forces analysis will be used to examine whether the competitive position of a company is determined by the industry structure in which it competes.
Hood's Sarsaparilla
English: Example of promotional "freebies" given t...
Figure 1Part 1: Strategic assessment of the generic pharmaceutical industry in Greece
During the last years the generic market in Greece has exhibited great growth. More specifically, in 2002 out of the 20 most profitable organizations in Greece, 9 participated in the production and selling of generic drugs (Geitona, et al. 2006). But what is a generic drug? According to Dr. Roger Williams, "a generic drug is a drug that is similar to a prototype drug in terms of dosage, strength, route of administration and intended use" (as cited in Meyer, 1999, p.11S). Although one would think that it is meaningless to choose an imitation of a prototype drug rather than the prototype itself a conduction of SWOT analysis to...