Abstract:

In modern marketing practices, relationship marketing becomes impertinent strategic tools. It can be applied in different industry in different scales. When it comes to the pharmaceutical industry, end users of most of medicines cannot decide the brand of the drugs prescribed by doctors. On the other words most of medical practitioners often continue to prescribe brand-name drugs to their patients even when less expensive generic equivalents are available. Apart from the prevailing conditions, some multinational companies like J L Morrison’s Ltd may not provide un ethical marketing practices to promote their brand through doctors.

In this context, it is important to investigate role of relationship marketing practices in prescribing behaviour of doctors in local context. Accordingly, main purpose of this study is to assessing the impact of relationship marketing practices effect on the prescribing behaviour of doctors towards JLM brands. As the empirical nature of the study, data were collected through structured questionnaire designed based on the measurement indicators identified in literature and field experience of the researcher. Accordingly, sample was selected from main cities of the country with the purpose of getting the doctors’ responses about the main research issues. Accordingly, 125 respondents were included in each sample. The respondents were selected based on convenience sampling method to represent all medical consultants who are relevant to the JLM brands in Sri Lankan market. Frequencies, percentages, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis etc. were employed as data analysis tools.

Reliability test was carried out and Cronbach’s Alpha values of each construct was found that a good interring reliability exist with the data. The results indicated that there are positive relationships between all three aspects of relationship marketing practices adopted by JLM brands and doctors’ prescribing behaviour. Further it is noted that perceptions of doctors towards relationship marketing practices are favourable and positive tendency for prescribing JLM brands. The results provide evidence to accept all hypotheses. Finally, researchers have emphasized some implications to marketers of pharmaceutical industry to develop their marketing strategies for encouraging doctors for prescribing JLM brands in competitive markets.

Keywords: Relationship marketing, Prescribing behaviour, Pharmaceutical industry.

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