Generic knowledge strategies in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry
研究了21家美国制药公司1977至1991年的知识战略，通过聚类分析识别出探索者、利用者、独行者、创新者四类战略，发现创新者和探索者利润更高。
Abstract The purpose of this study is to identify groups of firms with similar generic knowledge strategies, determine how these strategies change over time, and compare profit margins of the groups. Knowledge strategies of 21 U.S. pharmaceutical firms are analyzed from 1977 to 1991. Cluster analysis is used to group firms over different time periods based on: (a) balance between internal and external learning, (b) preference for radical or incremental learning, (c) learning speed, and (d) breadth of knowledge base. Our findings indicate that there are four generic knowledge strategy groups: ‘Explorers’, ‘Exploiters’, ‘Loners’, and ‘Innovators’. Most firms remain in the same knowledge group over time. The firms in the ‘Innovator’ and ‘Explorer’ groups tend to be more profitable than the firms in the ‘Exploiter’ and ‘Loner’ groups.