The marketing response of independent retail pharmacy in Ireland in 2014: a case study

Bourke, John (2014) The marketing response of independent retail pharmacy in Ireland in 2014: a case study. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Independent retail pharmacy, representing a type of retail SME significantly influenced by its professional role, faces stark marketplace challenges today. Research has found that marketing in SMEs is strongly influenced by resource constraints and by the attitudes, skills and knowledge of the owner/manager.

‘Innovative marketing’ is a specific construct in the literature that models (APT- Assimilation, Prediction, Transformation) the characteristic marketing activities of SMEs. Utilising a qualitative research strategy and case study design, this research explores the marketing response of independent retail pharmacy in Ireland in 2014, contributing to our understanding of the marketing activities of this particular sector.

It finds that the professional role of the retail pharmacist has a multifaceted influence on the marketing response of independent retail pharmacies. While location/place and price centred strategies are evident, a marketing strategy, termed NATCALEX, that combines an emphasis on the local expert care of the owner/manager pharmacist within a national retail brand, is favoured by an increasing number of owners. The formation of strategic alliances (Assimilation) from 2007 has led to this strategy. From these groups Prediction based marketing activities led to the emergence of the NATCALEX marketing strategies. The most physically obvious marketing activities today are Transformative, utilising all elements of the marketing mix, most notably, branding.

For other owners, marketing activities have led to significant number of, career as opposed to market driven new openings; also demographic and price centred marketing strategies are evident.
While technically there is some alignment between the Core Competency Framework for Pharmacists and the entrepreneurial marketing competencies of SME owners, there is no explicit reference to marketing or entrepreneurship in the Framework; also some degree of equivocation appears to exist about the place of marketing or entrepreneurial competencies.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > Marketing
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Science in Marketing
Depositing User:	Claire Wallnutt
Date Deposited:	22 Nov 2014 13:20
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2014 13:20
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/1777

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