Project Teams as Means of Restructuring Research and Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry

This paper investigates the strategic and organizational changes which two major Swiss pharmaceutical companies have implemented in order to respond to the challenges related to a slowing of innovation and increasing oligopolistic rivalry. Introducing cross-functional project teams, the companies mainly accelerated the development process. These project teams are overlaying structures which complement the functional and geographical organizational units. Common project teams and steering committees are instruments to manage collaborations between pharmaceutical and biotech companies. This paper argues that project teams change power relations, reflect rationalization efforts and serve to create organizational and cultural proximity which is important to guarantee knowledge flows within and between firms. Cet article examine les changements stratégiques et organisationnels mis en oeuvre par deux grandes sociétés pharmaceutiques suisses afin de relever les défis liés au ralentissement de l'innovation et àla hausse de la concurrence oligopolistique. En mettant en place des équipes de projet multi-fonctionnelles, les sociétés ont pour la plupart accéléré le processus de développement. Ces équipes de projet constituent des structures qui recouvrent et complètent les unités d'organisation fonctionnelles et géographiques. Des équipes de projet et des comités directeurs communs sont des instruments pour administrer la collaboration entre les sociétés pharmaceutiques et biotechnologiques. Cet article affirme que les équipes de projet influent sur la répartition des pouvoirs, reflètent les efforts de rationalisation et servent à créer la proximitéorganisationnelle et culturelle qui est importante afin d'assurer le flux de connaissances intra et interentreprises. Der Artikel untersucht die strategischen und organisatorischen Veränderungen, die zwei wichtige schweizerische Pharmakonzerne implementiert haben, um auf die Herausforderungen des Innovationsdefizits und der verschärften oligopolistischen Rivalität zu antworten. Mit der Einführung von functions übergreifenden Projektteams haben die Unternehmen hauptschlich den Entwicklungsprozess beschleunigt. Diese Projektteams sind ergänzende Strukturen, die die funktionalen und geographischen Organisationseinheiten-berlagern. Projektteams und gemeinsame Steuerungsgremien sind Instrumente, um die Kooperationen zwischen Pharma- und Biotechunternehmen zu leiten. Der Artikel argumentiert, dass Projektteams die Machtverhältnisse verändern, organisatorischer Ausdruck von Rationalisierungsmanahmen sind und dazu dienen, organisatorische und kulturelle Nähe zu schaffen. Diese ist wichtig, um die Wissensflüsse innerhalb von und zwischen Firmen zu garantieren.

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