IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0315811.html

The impact of the centralized volume-based procurement policy on Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing firms’ R&D investment: A difference-in-differences approach

Author

Listed:
  • Fangjun Qiu
  • Shouming Chen
  • Yujia Li
  • Xianjing Wang
  • Mengfei Zhu

Abstract

Centralized drug procurement is a common practice worldwide to relieve the healthcare burden and promote high-quality development in the pharmaceutical industry. However, scholars have not yet reached an agreement on whether centralized procurement can facilitate the innovation activities of pharmaceutical firms. China’s centralized volume-based procurement (CVBP) implemented in 2018 provides an ideal quasi-natural experiment to evaluate the effect of centralized procurement on the R&D investment of the firms. Drawing data from listed manufacturing firms in China’s A-share market (2015–2020), the results from a difference-in-differences analysis with different model specifications indicate that the CVBP significantly promotes the pharmaceutical manufacturing firms’ R&D investment. Moreover, the positive effect of the CVBP on R&D investment is stronger in pharmaceutical manufacturing firms with high marketing expenses. A series of robustness tests including the parallel trend test, placebo test, and the PSM-DID analysis show that our findings are solid. This paper advances our understanding of centralized procurement in emerging markets and provides new insights into how governments and pharmaceutical manufacturing firms can strengthen innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Fangjun Qiu & Shouming Chen & Yujia Li & Xianjing Wang & Mengfei Zhu, 2025. "The impact of the centralized volume-based procurement policy on Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing firms’ R&D investment: A difference-in-differences approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0315811
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315811
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315811
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315811&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0315811?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. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Hünermund, Paul & Moshgbar, Nima, 2020. "Public Procurement of Innovation: Evidence from a German Legislative Reform," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    2. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728.
    3. François Derrien & Ambrus Kecskés, 2013. "The Real Effects of Financial Shocks: Evidence from Exogenous Changes in Analyst Coverage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(4), pages 1407-1440, August.
    4. Kern, Florian & Rogge, Karoline S. & Howlett, Michael, 2019. "Policy mixes for sustainability transitions: New approaches and insights through bridging innovation and policy studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(10).
    5. Wouter Boon & Jakob Edler, 2018. "Demand, challenges, and innovation. Making sense of new trends in innovation policy," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 435-447.
    6. Ionel PREDA, 2019. "Analysis of Centralized Public Procurement in the European Union, the United States of America and Romania," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 20(4), pages 459-472, October.
    7. Shilpi Tyagi & D. K. Nauriyal & Rachita Gulati, 2018. "Firm level R&D intensity: evidence from Indian drugs and pharmaceutical industry," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 167-202, January.
    8. Lechner, Michael, 2011. "The Estimation of Causal Effects by Difference-in-Difference Methods," Foundations and Trends(R) in Econometrics, now publishers, vol. 4(3), pages 165-224, November.
    9. Raiteri, Emilio, 2018. "A time to nourish? Evaluating the impact of public procurement on technological generality through patent data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(5), pages 936-952.
    10. Marvel, Howard P. & Yang, Huanxing, 2008. "Group purchasing, nonlinear tariffs, and oligopoly," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 1090-1105, September.
    11. Victor Chen & Jing Li & Daniel Shapiro & Xiaoxiang Zhang, 2014. "Ownership structure and innovation: An emerging market perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 1-24, March.
    12. Lea Toulemon, 2018. "The effect of group purchasing on prices hospitals pay for medicines," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(9), pages 1380-1393, September.
    13. Qiaohai (Joice) Hu & Leroy B. Schwarz & Nelson A. Uhan, 2012. "The Impact of Group Purchasing Organizations on Healthcare-Product Supply Chains," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 14(1), pages 7-23, January.
    14. Edquist, Charles & Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, Jon Mikel, 2012. "Public Procurement for Innovation as mission-oriented innovation policy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 1757-1769.
    15. Yuanyuan Hu & Shouming Chen & Fangjun Qiu & Peien Chen & Shaoxiong Chen, 2021. "Will the Volume-Based Procurement Policy Promote Pharmaceutical Firms’ R&D Investment in China? An Event Study Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-21, November.
    16. Liu, Feng-chao & Simon, Denis Fred & Sun, Yu-tao & Cao, Cong, 2011. "China's innovation policies: Evolution, institutional structure, and trajectory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 917-931, September.
    17. Cohen, Wesley M & Klepper, Steven, 1996. "Firm Size and the Nature of Innovation within Industries: The Case of Process and Product R&D," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(2), pages 232-243, May.
    18. Boone, Jan, 2001. "Intensity of competition and the incentive to innovate," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 705-726, April.
    19. Coad, Alex & Segarra, Agustí & Teruel, Mercedes, 2016. "Innovation and firm growth: Does firm age play a role?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 387-400.
    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. Yujia Tian & Fei Sha & Haohui Chi & Zheng Ji, 2025. "The Impact of Drug Price Reduction on Healthcare System Sustainability: A CGE Analysis of China’s Centralized Volume-Based Procurement Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-17, August.
    2. He, Huan & Zhan, Yuanzhu & Huo, Baofeng & Zhang, Yufeng & Shi, Xiaojie, 2025. "The impact of national centralized drug procurement policy on firm performance: Evidence from Chinese pharmaceutical firms," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).

    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. Tee, Kenny & Syriopoulos, Konstantinos & Rubbaniy, Ghulame & Salim, Amna, 2025. "Asymmetric relationship between competition and innovation: Evidence from banks in the Eurozone," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).
    2. Ali, Amjad & Afzal, Muhammad Bilal & Ahmad, Khalil, 2025. "Market Concentration and Innovation Horizon: Evidence from the US Firms," MPRA Paper 127526, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Gilbert Richard J, 2006. "Competition and Innovation," Journal of Industrial Organization Education, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Uyarra, Elvira & Zabala-Iturriagagoitia, Jon Mikel & Flanagan, Kieron & Magro, Edurne, 2020. "Public procurement, innovation and industrial policy: Rationales, roles, capabilities and implementation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    5. Misraku Molla Ayalew & Zhang Xianzhi & Yidersal Dagnaw Dinberu & Demis Hailegebreal Hailu, 2020. "The Determinants of Firm’s Innovation in Africa," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 527-567, September.
    6. Castelnovo, Paolo & Clò, Stefano & Florio, Massimo, 2023. "A quasi-experimental design to assess the innovative impact of public procurement: An application to the Italian space industry," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    7. Jan Huňady & Marta Orviská & Beata Šarkanová, 2014. "Determinants of European Firm's Innovation and the Role of Public Financial Support," European Financial and Accounting Journal, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2014(1), pages 62-84.
    8. Lin, Haizhen & Wang, Yanhao, 2025. "The value of group purchasing: Evidence from the U.S. hospital industry," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    9. Liu, Meihan & Zhao, Jingjie & Liu, Hongtao, 2025. "Digital transformation, employee and executive compensation, and sustained green innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    10. T. Gries & R. Grundmann & I. Palnau & M. Redlin, 2017. "Innovations, growth and participation in advanced economies - a review of major concepts and findings," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 293-351, April.
    11. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Zhang, Min, 2020. "The cost of weak institutions for innovation in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    12. Richard Gilbert & Daniel Rubinfeld, 2011. "Revising the Horizontal Merger Guidelines: Lessons from the US and the EU," Chapters, in: Michael Faure & Xinzhu Zhang (ed.), Competition Policy and Regulation, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Cincera, Michele & Ince, Ela & Santos, Anabela, 2024. "Revisiting the innovation-competition nexus: Evidence from worldwide manufacturing and service industries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 586-603.
    14. Guo, Bing & Pérez-Castrillo, David & Toldrà-Simats, Anna, 2019. "Firms’ innovation strategy under the shadow of analyst coverage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(2), pages 456-483.
    15. Madan Dhanora & Ruchi Sharma & Walter G. Park, 2021. "Technological Innovations and Market Power: A Study of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry," Millennial Asia, , vol. 12(1), pages 5-34, April.
    16. Thijs ten Raa & Pierre Mohnen, 2009. "Competition and Performance: The Different Roles of Capital and Labor," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Input–Output Economics: Theory And Applications Featuring Asian Economies, chapter 20, pages 371-388, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    17. Rocsana Bucea-Manea-Țoniș & Oliva Maria Dourado Martins & Dragan Ilic & Mădălina Belous & Radu Bucea-Manea-Țoniș & Cezar Braicu & Violeta-Elena Simion, 2020. "Green and Sustainable Public Procurement—An Instrument for Nudging Consumer Behavior. A Case Study on Romanian Green Public Agriculture across Different Sectors of Activity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, December.
    18. Aghion, Philippe & Akcigit, Ufuk & Howitt, Peter, 2014. "What Do We Learn From Schumpeterian Growth Theory?," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 515-563, Elsevier.
    19. Stefano Bianchini & Federico Tamagni & Gabriele Pellegrino, 2016. "Innovation strategies and firm growth," Working Papers 2016/10, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    20. Paolo Castelnuovo & Stefano Clo & Massimo Florio, 2021. "Space policy drives innovation through technological procurement: evidence from Italy," Working Papers - Economics wp2021_08.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:plo:pone00:0315811. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.