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Sustaining the integration of social objectives over time: A case-based analysis of access to medicine in the pharmaceutical industry
Bünder,Tobias Rathert,Nikolas Mair,Johanna
Bünder,Tobias
Rathert,Nikolas
Mair,Johanna
Abstract
Companies increasingly seek to strategically integrate social objectives in commercial activities to address societal challenges, yet little is known about how companies can sustain such a commitment over time. To address this question, we conduct a case-based, abductive study of two pharmaceutical companies widely considered industry leaders in facilitating access to medicine over a 20-year period (2000–2019). We identify product and operation-level integration as distinct types of integration efforts enacted by these companies. Tracing the intraorganizational dynamics associated with these efforts, we theorize that sustained integration is contingent on companies’ ability to respond to and address the challenges specific to product and operation-level integration. The theoretical framework we develop contributes to an emerging debate on the potential of companies to make progress on societal challenges by strategically integrating social objectives, including but not limited to those related to global health.
Description
Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
access to medicine, corporate responsibility, integration of social objectives, pharmaceutical industry, SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being, SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
Citation
Bünder, T, Rathert, N & Mair, J 2024, 'Sustaining the integration of social objectives over time : A case-based analysis of access to medicine in the pharmaceutical industry', Business & Society, vol. 63, no. 5, pp. 1110–1148. https://doi.org/10.1177/00076503231182667
License
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess