The evolving role of medical affairs in the pharma industry: a paradox perspective

• Autor(a) principal: Gomes, Ana Rita Parracho Lau
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/134295
• topic: Pharma industry; Paradox perspective; Domínio/Área Científica: Ciências Sociais: Economia e Gestão

Purpose: The purpose of this work is to answer the following research question: how do changes in the scope of a job role confront its occupants with paradoxical challenges? With this in mind, I use the specific example of the medical role in the pharma industry, and provide a deeper understanding of how this function works, the several paradoxes medical face and predict what would be the best approach to manage these and the set of skills to develop in order to do so. Method: All the heads of medical in the region of Europe and Canada of a pharma biotech organization were interviewed (seven) and then applied inductive research and the systematic approach by Gioia, Corley and Hamilton (2012). Findings: For medical to succeed and become a primary strategic pillar in a pharma organization they should excel in transcendence and invest as core skills in project management, business acumen and clear communication, together with the already present scientific expertise. Originality/value: This study aims to explore how a change in a role due to a heavily disrupted marketplace setting raises paradoxical questions using the example of Healthcare and proposing a model to succeed in it.