Open innovation is a young arena in research that is fascinating the attention of a growing number of scholars. However, there are not enough studies that investigate open innovation performance. The pharmaceutical industry with the most Research and Development (R&D) intensity has been targeted by this new paradigm. This study explores the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on open innovation performance, considering the mediating role of desorptive capacity, which is defined as the firms capability to recognize outward technology transfer opportunities and to facilitate it. We use structural equation modeling to examine the hypotheses on a dataset from 100 Iranian pharmaceutical manufacturers in 2018. The results of the study support our conceptual model. Our findings indicate that a firms entrepreneurial orientation and desorptive capacity have a positive effect on its open innovation performance. Moreover, desorptive capacity has a mediating effect in the relation of entrepreneurial orientation and open innovation performance. This denotes that our new model contributes to the concept of desorptive capacity in the context of open innovation.

Resource limitation and inadequate capabilities are the SME’s major problems. On this basis, alliances as vehicles of inter-firm collaboration provide opportunities for SMEs to obtain complementary capabilities and critical resources to overcome resource limitations. In this respect, examining the extant literature on non-equity strategic alliances shows that very few studies have empirically examined the impact of these alliances, such as inward international licensing (IIL) on SMEs’ dynamic capabilities (e.g. absorptive capacity and networking capability) in developing context. Consequently, to close this research gap, the purpose of this study is to examine and explore the major impacts of inward international licensing (IIL) on dynamic capabilities of SMEs, with focus on absorptive capacity (ACAP) and networking capability (NC) in a developing economy context (Iran).

This study is focused on pharmaceutical SMEs involved in international business activities through inward international licensing (IIL). The study is explorative, qualitative and elaborative in nature. The dominant analytical approach in this study was abductive. Given the research type (nature), a multiple-case study was selected as an appropriate research strategy to achieve the research purpose and objectives. All cases were selected purposefully. The data were collected from four pharmaceutical SMEs (licensees) with licenses from European pharmaceutical largescale enterprises (LSEs). The results of the first part of this study reveal that in all cases studied, inward international licensing (IIL) has a strong effect on absorptive capacity (ACAP) and networking capability (NC). In this regard, all absorptive factors (AFs), namely acquisition, assimilation, transformation, and exploitation, have been enhanced by influenced contextual factors (CFs) of ACAP. The SMEs’ management and strategy, human resources, internal knowledge, and inter and intra-firm relationships, as several contextual factors (CF) of ACAP, have been forcefully influenced by inward international licensing (IIL). The second part of the empirical results indicates that the international licensing alliance between SMEs and LSEs helps the development of SMEs’ networking capability as well. This was particularly significant in development of the main components of networking capability, such as relationship initiation capability (RIC) and relationship developing capability (RDC).

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impacts of inward international licensing (IIL) on the absorptive capacity (ACAP) of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a developing economy. Design/methodology/approach – The study is explorative, qualitative and elaborative in nature. Therefore, a multiple case study was selected and performed as the research strategy. The data were collected from four pharmaceutical SMEs licensed from European pharmaceutical large-scale enterprises. Findings – The results confirm that IIL has a strong effect on acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation as absorptive factors. Furthermore, the results have been enhanced by several contextual factors of ACAP human resources, inter-and intra-firm relationships, internal knowledge and managerial and strategic aspects. These contextual factors have also been influenced by IIL. Originality/value – From the licensee perspective in a developing context, examining the extant literature on non-equity strategic alliances shows that very few studies have empirically examined the impact of this kind of alliance, such as IIL, on SMEs’ ACAP. On this basis, the study provides evidence that non-equity strategic alliances, particularly IIL, enhance SMEs’ capabilities such as ACAP. In other words, to overcome SMEs’ resource limitations and inadequate capabilities, IIL provides opportunities for them to obtain capabilities and critical resources.

Many SMEs are connected to large size enterprises (LSEs) by non-equity alliances such as inward licensing. This study is an attempt to explore the impact of inward international licensing (IIL) between SMEs and LSEs as enhancing force for development of networking capability. This area has remained largely unsearched. Following this line of thought, in order to explore the impacts of IIL on the SMEs’ networking capability, a multiple-case study was chosen and performed as appropriate research strategy in the context of developing economy. The data was collected from the four pharmaceutical SMEs which have been licensed by large European pharmaceutical multinational LSEs. The results of this study reveal that the strategic alliances (licensing) between SMEs and LSEs helps the development of SMEs’ networking capability. This was particular significant in development of the main components of networking capability; such as relational initiation capability and relational developing capability.

In current global economy with hipper competition in home market, access to foreign markets has become a must for most of SMEs; therefore, SMEs internationalization has received great attention. However, internationalization of SMEs from developing countries in general and rapid internationalization in particular has remained largely unsearched. This longitudinal study was carried out with the aim of exploring the pattern of successful internationalization of an active pharmaceutical ingredient B2B SME from the resource based view (RBV). The study covers the company’s activities for establishment in foreign markets over a 12-year period (2000 - 2011) during which it entered 25 countries and increased its export by 20 times. The results of the study show that the internationalization behavior of the studied SME can be explained by a combination of three main critical resources such as entrepreneurial orientation, networking capability and adaptive production capability. These three resources have played crucial role as source of competitive advantage across foreign markets over time. Furthermore, although the RBV was constant during the period studied, the resources as bases for creating competitive advantages were changed from tangible to more intangible sources. The study has significant managerial and academic implications

Today’s, the parent company has the great role in managing and monitoring subsidiaries and companies and promoting their industrial activities. But, the main problem for pharmaceutical parent companies is the lack of clarity and confusion of   responsibilities between units .The successful parenting needs to create the element of 'fit' between the ways parent operates – parent characteristics – and   its business characteristics. However, the main parent characteristic is parent structure and restructuring is the main challenge in changing and unstable pharmaceutical market. In fact, the parent strategy should determine how value can be added to every organizational structure and parent structure should be proportionate to its dominant value creation strategy. The value drivers are very different in pharmaceutical industry regarding fast changing technology. The aim of this study is to explore an appropriate value-creating structure for the largest pharmaceutical parent company in Iran, TPICO. This study concentrates the sources of value in this special domain and restructuring the parent company by considering the dominant value-creating strategy and pharmaceutical value drivers.