Biotechnology: the emerging battlefield for US and Japanese pharmaceutical companies

The Japanese pharmaceutical industry has lagged behind the US in developing and marhting innovative new compounh. A gap anabsis rebing on international publication and patenting stahtics as well as market survgs shows that the US is the clear leader in biophannaceuticals. Recent Japanese public and private efforts to close the gap have posed no immediate threat to US pharmaceutical companies. The conflict over industrial policy among the ministries involved will take some time to be resolved. However, information networking activities and cross-border technology linkages of Japanese companies should not be underestimated. Biotechnology is current4 transforming theJapanese pharmaceutical induse, and the US will have to deal with a gowing Japanese challenge in the long run. Preventive US counter-measures should include investments in in-house biotechnology research, acquisitions of smaller biotechnology start-up ventures, global commercialization o f biophannaceuticals, and proactive management o f technology linkages with Japanese companies.     

E-banking comes to town: Exploring how traditional UK high street banks are meeting the challenge of technology and virtual relationships

UK high street banks are continuing to extend the choice of channel through which customers can manage their moneycolon; an obvious example is e-banking. They have been keen to exploit technological advances and changing customer attitudes to alternative channels. Additionally, competition from leaner new market entrants has provided an added incentive to adopt new approaches. In the light of such developments, it is worth reflecting on the changing nature of the bank–customer relationship. This paper suggests that banks are finding it difficult to manage relationships effectively due, in large measure, to the sheer volume of customer data generated by new interactive, technology-based channels. Paradoxically, it seems that the more data banks have about customers the less likely they are to know them on a personal level. It is further suggested that channels such as e-banking potentially reduce the level of personal contact between bank and customer to the extent that a ‘virtual’ relationship develops. This paper concludes that, given the tendency towards ‘virtualisation’, it is inconceivable that bank–customer relationships will become any more intimate in the future. Indeed, a greater degree of personalisation in customer communication may be the very best that banks are able to offer.