Abstract:

It is the objective of this paper to explore the potential value of Social Research to the Pharmaceutical Industry. I do not intend to cover every aspect of research that could loosely be termed ’social’ research, rather, I will concentrate on showing how the attitudes and beliefs held by society tend to shape the nature of the pharmaceutical market place, and that as this 'social environment' changes, so too can the ’marketing environment' within which the Pharmaceutical Industry is operating. I will be using the results of a recent study we conducted specifically for this paper, to illustrate just a few of the attitudes held by society that can profoundly change the structure of the markets within which the Industry is operating.