IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormksc/v28y2009i3p472-487.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs: A Strategic Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Wilfred Amaldoss

    (Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708)

  • Chuan He

    (Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309)

Abstract

Consumers cannot purchase a prescription drug without a prescription from a physician, yet many prescription drugs are promoted to consumers with the help of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. In this paper, we propose and test a competitive model of DTC advertising. We find that the brand specificity of DTC advertising can have an inverted U-shaped relationship with detailing, DTC advertising, and profits. Furthermore, an increase in the cross-price sensitivity between competing prescription drugs is not always detrimental to firm profits. A laboratory test lends qualitative support to some of our model predictions. We also discuss potential implications of DTC advertising for generic drugs and over-the-counter drugs.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilfred Amaldoss & Chuan He, 2009. "Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs: A Strategic Analysis," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(3), pages 472-487, 05-06.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:28:y:2009:i:3:p:472-487
    DOI: 10.1287/mksc.1080.0411
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1080.0411
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mksc.1080.0411?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gary S. Becker & Kevin M. Murphy, 1993. "A Simple Theory of Advertising as a Good or Bad," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(4), pages 941-964.
    2. Gene M. Grossman & Carl Shapiro, 1984. "Informative Advertising with Differentiated Products," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 51(1), pages 63-81.
    3. Eitan Gerstner & James D. Hess, 1995. "Pull Promotions and Channel Coordination," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 43-60.
    4. Hurwitz, Mark A & Caves, Richard E, 1988. "Persuasion or Information? Promotion and the Shares of Brand Name and Generic Pharmaceuticals," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(2), pages 299-320, October.
    5. Pradeep K. Chintagunta & Ramarao Desiraju, 2005. "Strategic Pricing and Detailing Behavior in International Markets," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 67-80, June.
    6. Meurer, Michael & Stahl, Dale II, 1994. "Informative advertising and product match," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Wilfred Amaldoss & Amnon Rapoport, 2005. "Collaborative Product and Market Development: Theoretical Implications and Experimental Evidence," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 396-414, February.
    8. David M. Cutler & Alan M. Garber, 2003. "Introduction to "Frontiers in Health Policy Research, Volume 6"," NBER Chapters, in: Frontiers in Health Policy Research, Volume 6, pages -5, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Nelson, Philip, 1974. "Advertising as Information," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(4), pages 729-754, July/Aug..
    10. Cutler David M. & Garber Alan M., 2003. "Introduction to Frontiers in Health Policy Research, Volume 6," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 1-6, January.
    11. Jagmohan S. Raju & Raj Sethuraman & Sanjay K. Dhar, 1995. "The Introduction and Performance of Store Brands," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(6), pages 957-978, June.
    12. Rapoport, Amnon & Amaldoss, Wilfred, 2004. "Mixed-strategy play in single-stage first-price all-pay auctions with symmetric players," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(4), pages 585-607, August.
    13. Ching, Andrew & Ishihara, Masakazu, 2007. "The Effects of Detailing on Prescribing Decisions under Two-Sided Learning," MPRA Paper 4935, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Toshiaki Iizuka & Ginger Zhe Jin, 2005. "The Effect of Prescription Drug Advertising on Doctor Visits," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 701-727, September.
    15. David M. Cutler & Alan M. Garber, 2003. "Frontiers in Health Policy Research, Volume 6," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number cutl03-1.
    16. Rosenthal Meredith B. & Berndt Ernst R. & Donohue Julie M. & Epstein Arnold M. & Frank Richard G., 2003. "Demand Effects of Recent Changes in Prescription Drug Promotion," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 1-28, January.
    17. Meredith B. Rosenthal & Ernst R. Berndt & Julie M. Donohue & Arnold M. Epstein & Richard G. Frank, 2003. "Demand Effects of Recent Changes in Prescription Drug Promotion," NBER Chapters, in: Frontiers in Health Policy Research, Volume 6, pages 1-26, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Desiraju, Ramarao & Nair, Harikesh S. & Chintagunta, Pradeep, 2004. "Diffusion of New Pharmaceutical Drugs in Developing and Developed Nations," Research Papers 1950, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    19. Kamien, Morton I. & Zang, Israel, 2000. "Meet me halfway: research joint ventures and absorptive capacity," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(7), pages 995-1012, October.
    20. David A. Soberman, 2004. "Research Note: Additional Learning and Implications on the Role of Informative Advertising," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(12), pages 1744-1750, December.
    21. Frank M. Bass & Anand Krishnamoorthy & Ashutosh Prasad & Suresh P. Sethi, 2005. "Generic and Brand Advertising Strategies in a Dynamic Duopoly," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(4), pages 556-568, February.
    22. Rapoport, Amnon & Amaldoss, Wilfred, 2000. "Mixed strategies and iterative elimination of strongly dominated strategies: an experimental investigation of states of knowledge," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 483-521, August.
    23. Puneet Manchanda & Ying Xie & Nara Youn, 2008. "The Role of Targeted Communication and Contagion in Product Adoption," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(6), pages 961-976, 11-12.
    24. Rapoport, Amnon & Boebel, Richard B., 1992. "Mixed strategies in strictly competitive games: A further test of the minimax hypothesis," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 261-283, April.
    25. Rizzo, John A, 1999. "Advertising and Competition in the Ethical Pharmaceutical Industry: The Case of Antihypertensive Drugs," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(1), pages 89-116, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chuan He & Shaowei Ke & Xingtan Zhang, 2022. "A Model of Product Line Marketing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(8), pages 6100-6115, August.
    2. Mahabubur Rahman & M. Ángeles Rodríguez-Serrano & Mary Lambkin, 2019. "Advertising efficiency and profitability: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry," Post-Print hal-02096913, HAL.
    3. Simon P. Anderson & Régis Renault, 2013. "The Advertising Mix for a Search Good," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(1), pages 69-83, April.
    4. Khim-Yong Goh & Cheng-Suang Heng & Zhijie Lin, 2013. "Social Media Brand Community and Consumer Behavior: Quantifying the Relative Impact of User- and Marketer-Generated Content," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(1), pages 88-107, March.
    5. Wilfred Amaldoss & Woochoel Shin, 2011. "Competing for Low-End Markets," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(5), pages 776-788, September.
    6. Yu Wang & Ernan Haruvy, 2013. "Tiers in One-Sided Matching Markets: Theory and Experimental Investigation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(6), pages 1458-1477, June.
    7. Abhik Roy, 2022. "A dynamic model of price competition and promotion in prescription drug markets," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 577-591, December.
    8. Tinglong Dai & Shubhranshu Singh, 2020. "Conspicuous by Its Absence: Diagnostic Expert Testing Under Uncertainty," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(3), pages 540-563, May.
    9. repec:dau:papers:123456789/12407 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Stefan Stremersch & Vardit Landsman & Sriram Venkataraman, 2013. "The Relationship Between DTCA, Drug Requests, and Prescriptions: Uncovering Variation in Specialty and Space," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(1), pages 89-110, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dhaval M. Dave, 2013. "Effects of Pharmaceutical Promotion: A Review and Assessment," NBER Working Papers 18830, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Sriram Venkataraman & Stefan Stremersch, 2007. "The Debate on Influencing Doctors' Decisions: Are Drug Characteristics the Missing Link?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(11), pages 1688-1701, November.
    3. Ram Bala & Pradeep Bhardwaj, 2010. "Detailing vs. Direct-to-Consumer Advertising in the Prescription Pharmaceutical Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(1), pages 148-160, January.
    4. Kremer, Sara T.M. & Bijmolt, Tammo H.A. & Leeflang, Peter S.H. & Wieringa, Jaap E., 2008. "Generalizations on the effectiveness of pharmaceutical promotional expenditures," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 234-246.
    5. Stefan Stremersch & Vardit Landsman & Sriram Venkataraman, 2013. "The Relationship Between DTCA, Drug Requests, and Prescriptions: Uncovering Variation in Specialty and Space," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(1), pages 89-110, June.
    6. Stefan Stremersch & Aurélie Lemmens, 2009. "Sales Growth of New Pharmaceuticals Across the Globe: The Role of Regulatory Regimes," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(4), pages 690-708, 07-08.
    7. Toshiaki Iizuka, 2004. "What Explains the Use of Direct‐to‐Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs?," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 349-379, September.
    8. Anusua Datta & Dhaval Dave, 2017. "Effects of Physician‐directed Pharmaceutical Promotion on Prescription Behaviors: Longitudinal Evidence," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 450-468, April.
    9. Karray, Salma & Martín-Herrán, Guiomar, 2009. "A dynamic model for advertising and pricing competition between national and store brands," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 193(2), pages 451-467, March.
    10. Jayawardhana, Jayani, 2013. "Direct-to-consumer advertising and consumer welfare," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 164-180.
    11. David Genesove & Avi Simhon, 2015. "Seasonality and the Effect of Advertising on Price," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 199-222, March.
    12. Puneet Manchanda & Dick Wittink & Andrew Ching & Paris Cleanthous & Min Ding & Xiaojing Dong & Peter Leeflang & Sanjog Misra & Natalie Mizik & Sridhar Narayanan & Thomas Steenburgh & Jaap Wieringa & M, 2005. "Understanding Firm, Physician and Consumer Choice Behavior in the Pharmaceutical Industry," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 293-308, December.
    13. Linnosmaa Ismo Erkki, 2008. "Advertising, Free-Riding, and Price Differences in the Market for Prescription Drugs," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 8(2), pages 1-37, July.
    14. Castanheira, Micael & Ornaghi, Carmine & Siotis, Georges, 2019. "The unexpected consequences of generic entry," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    15. Venkataraman, S. & Stremersch, S., 2007. "The Debate on Influencing Doctors’ Decisions: Are Drug Characteristics the Missing Link?," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2007-056-MKT, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    16. Ivan Pastine & Tuvana Pastine, 2000. "Coordination in Markets with Consumption Externalities : The Role of Advertising and Product Quality," Working Papers 0003, Department of Economics, Bilkent University.
    17. Brekke, Kurt R. & Kuhn, Michael, 2006. "Direct to consumer advertising in pharmaceutical markets," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 102-130, January.
    18. Guillem Roig, 2017. "Product Compatibility as an Strategy to Hinder Entry Deterrence," Documentos de Trabajo 15773, Universidad del Rosario.
    19. Hosken, Daniel & Wendling, Brett, 2013. "Informing the uninformed: How drug advertising affects check-up visits," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 181-194.
    20. David A. Soberman, 2004. "Research Note: Additional Learning and Implications on the Role of Informative Advertising," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(12), pages 1744-1750, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:28:y:2009:i:3:p:472-487. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.