An assessment of professional training for product managers in the pharmaceutical industry

Published date01 August 2006
Pages324-330
Date01 August 2006
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/10610420610685721
AuthorLea Prevel Katsanis
Subject MatterMarketing
An assessment of professional training for
product managers in the pharmaceutical
industry
Lea Prevel Katsanis
Department of Marketing, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – The primary purpose of this study is to identify how and where product managers in the pharmaceutical industry receive the training
required to undertake their job tasks, and whether or not there is a relationship between the tasks they perform and the training they receive.
Design/methodology/approach – The methodology for this study was exploratory and descriptive in nature, and utilized a cross-sectional survey
design. Both descriptive and relational statistics are used to analyze the data.
Findings – The key findings reveal that product managers receive the majority of their training on the job, with the rest supported by company-
sponsored training and outside seminars. Product managers do not appear to receive company training in proportion to the frequency with which
particular tasks are performed.
Research limitations/implications The limitations to the study are that the findings are limited to one industry and that training needs are self-
reported.
Originality/value – Managers should not assume that on the job training adequately prepares product managers to do their jobs properly, and
training should be an essential part of the product manager’s experience. The paper identifies specific areas for future training.
Keywords Pharmaceuticals industry, Marketing, Product management, Training needs, Training methods
Paper type Research paper
An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
The product management system, initially adopted by Procter
& Gamble in order to improve the effectiveness of developing
and marketing products, has undergone significant changes
over the years (Franzoni, 1991). In the 1990s, the
combination of explosive demand for new and improved
products as well as the availability of new technology for
production and delivery of such products generated additional
demands on the system (O’Connell, 1996). This situation
accelerated the rate of change and it produced an “evolved”
system which attempts to respond to current market dynamics
(Katsanis and Pitta, 1995). In the current millennium, the
growth in technology with which to communicate with
customers and address internal marketing needs has
mushroomed. In fact, Procter & Gamble has updated its
marketing training and has made this training a top priority
for the organization (Neff, 2002).
Despite the importance of product managers to the
marketing function, however, there has been little research
conducted on product manager training since the late 1990s.
It is not clear whether this research gap is as a result of lack of
interest on the part of researchers; the lack of training given to
product managers; or the assumption that the training they
currently receive is adequate.
European managers appear to consider product
management training somewhat more important than their
North American counterparts. For example, The Marketing
Excellence Forum in the UK (which consists of market
leaders such as Unilever and P&G) meet together several
times a year to exchange experiences and best practices, and
subsequently decide how to “trickle down” this learning into
their organizations (Brand Strategy, 2005).
The role of the product manager, in most, if not all industries,
is to develop product marketing plans, see that they are
implemented, monitor the results and take corrective action.
Such a limited scope does not capture the breadth of the
coordination function (Hehman, 1984; Low and Fullerton,
1994), the importance of boundary spanning to develop and
maintain a large network of industry contacts (Lysonski, 1985),
or the highly developed level of interpersonal skills required to
facilitate the accomplishment of tasks through relationships with
people over whom the product manager has no direct authority
(Gemmill and Wilemon, 1972).
With the increasingly rapid change, serious questions are
being raised about the ability of product managers to meet
these challenges in today’s leaner, faster moving and
entrepreneurial enterprises (Berggren and Dewar, 1992;
Low and Fullerton, 1994; Katsanis and Pitta, 1995).
Quelch et al. (1992) indicated that product managers want
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
15/5 (2006) 324–330
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/10610420610685721]
Acknowledgement and thanks is given to Patrick Gushue, MBA, for the
use of data collected as part of his MBA research paper.
324

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