%0 Journal Article
%T Responding to a Potentially Disruptive Technology: How Big Pharma Embraced Biotechnology
%A Ivanka Visnjic
%A Julian Birkinshaw
%A Simon Best
%J California Management Review
%@ 2162-8564
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0008125618778852
%X How do incumbent firms respond over time to a potentially disruptive technology? This article documents the strategies of 12 large pharmaceutical firms over 25 years as they addressed the opportunity/threat of biotechnology. All showed awareness of biotechnology¡¯s potential, but their response profiles varied dramatically in terms of timing (early/late) and focus (external/internal). Late movers mostly made large acquisitions to ¡°catch up,¡± but early movers maintained their lead in terms of biotechnology-based drug sales and profitability, and those with a more ¡°open¡± response profile performed better. This response involves a three-step process: building awareness (sensing), building capability (responding), and building commitment (scaling)
%K innovation
%K organizational change
%K strategic management
%K disruptive technology
%K disruptive innovation
%K acquisitions
%K pharmaceuticals
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0008125618778852