Knowledge sources and export performance: A tri-decadal perspective on the determinants of the India’s pharmaceutical exports
(A2025-126261)

AUTHORS

Satyanarayana Rentala, Bharathidasan Institute of Management; Ruma Agnes, Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu), INDIA

ABSTRACT

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has rapidly grown to become the world's largest provider of generic drugs, driven by product and process innovation. This growth has been influenced by both domestic and global policies, notably the TRIPS agreement, which has significantly impacted the industry's innovation ecosystem and international business strategies. This change has led Indian pharmaceutical firms to rely on a combination of internal and external knowledge-based sources for international business activities, especially in the post-TRIPS period (2004-05 onwards). This research is posited to be the first and a unique investigation to examine the export performance of the Indian pharmaceutical industry over a period of 3 decades (1994-2023). Various determinants of export performance that were classified as internal knowledge-based resources and external knowledge-based resources were investigated for the 3 different decades - 1994-2003; 2004-2013; 2014-2023. This research employed a sample of 79 Indian pharmaceutical firms. The results indicate that both internal and external knowledge-based resources were found to have a significant impact on export performance during the first decade (1994-2003). In the next 2 decades (2004-2013 & 2014-2023), external knowledge-based resources have demonstrated a significant impact on the export performance of the Indian pharmaceutical industry.