Technical efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war
This paper examines the influence of marketing expenses and total assets on the technical efficiency of big Ukrainian pharmaceutical producers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The data were collected from the nine leading pharmaceutical firms for six years, covering 2018–2023. In...
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LLC "CPC "Business Perspectives"
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Problems and Perspectives in Management |
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| author | Hanna Olasiuk Prashant Sharma Geetika Arora Debi Prasad Satapathy Sanjeev Kumar |
| author_facet | Hanna Olasiuk Prashant Sharma Geetika Arora Debi Prasad Satapathy Sanjeev Kumar |
| author_sort | Hanna Olasiuk |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper examines the influence of marketing expenses and total assets on the technical efficiency of big Ukrainian pharmaceutical producers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The data were collected from the nine leading pharmaceutical firms for six years, covering 2018–2023. Input-oriented data envelopment analysis was used, with revenue serving as the output and raw materials, sales, and general and administrative expenses as the inputs. The study found that the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of the full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine caused a decline in efficiency, although not statistically significant. The analysis showed that around 70% of pharmaceutical firms need to increase the scale of operations to achieve efficiency. Additionally, smaller and older firms were found to have better efficiency. The research findings show that marketing productivity is positively associated with pure efficiency, while marketing expenses have the opposite impact with coefficients 0.064 and –0.05, respectively. Finally, a substantial increase in slacks during the COVID-19 pandemic propelled managers to find ways to cut sales and general and administrative costs. The results underscore the importance of cost optimization policies, along with asset and business-scale management in maintaining the efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6568b7d27b2d4c879b57bb2411e25e5f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1727-7051 1810-5467 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | LLC "CPC "Business Perspectives" |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Problems and Perspectives in Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-6568b7d27b2d4c879b57bb2411e25e5f2025-08-20T03:42:25ZengLLC "CPC "Business Perspectives"Problems and Perspectives in Management1727-70511810-54672025-03-0123170371610.21511/ppm.23(1).2025.5221901Technical efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine warHanna Olasiuk0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3257-225XPrashant Sharma1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4929-1809Geetika Arora2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4137-7811Debi Prasad Satapathy3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4581-1707Sanjeev Kumar4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0630-0349Ph.D. in Economics, Associate Professor, Jindal Global Business School, Social Sciences and Humanities Department, O.P. Jindal Global University, IndiaFPM, Professor, Faculty of Finance, Jindal School of Banking and Finance, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, IndiaPh.D., Senior Instructor, Business Administration, University of the People, USAPh.D., Assistant Professor, School of Commerce, XIM University, IndiaPh.D. in Finance, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Business School, Department of Finance, O.P. Jindal Global University, IndiaThis paper examines the influence of marketing expenses and total assets on the technical efficiency of big Ukrainian pharmaceutical producers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The data were collected from the nine leading pharmaceutical firms for six years, covering 2018–2023. Input-oriented data envelopment analysis was used, with revenue serving as the output and raw materials, sales, and general and administrative expenses as the inputs. The study found that the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of the full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine caused a decline in efficiency, although not statistically significant. The analysis showed that around 70% of pharmaceutical firms need to increase the scale of operations to achieve efficiency. Additionally, smaller and older firms were found to have better efficiency. The research findings show that marketing productivity is positively associated with pure efficiency, while marketing expenses have the opposite impact with coefficients 0.064 and –0.05, respectively. Finally, a substantial increase in slacks during the COVID-19 pandemic propelled managers to find ways to cut sales and general and administrative costs. The results underscore the importance of cost optimization policies, along with asset and business-scale management in maintaining the efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms.https://www.businessperspectives.org/images/pdf/applications/publishing/templates/article/assets/21901/PPM_2025_01_Olasiuk.pdffirm sizemarketing expenditurespharmaceutical manufacturersscaleslack analysis |
| spellingShingle | Hanna Olasiuk Prashant Sharma Geetika Arora Debi Prasad Satapathy Sanjeev Kumar Technical efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war Problems and Perspectives in Management firm size marketing expenditures pharmaceutical manufacturers scale slack analysis |
| title | Technical efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war |
| title_full | Technical efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war |
| title_fullStr | Technical efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war |
| title_full_unstemmed | Technical efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war |
| title_short | Technical efficiency of Ukrainian pharmaceutical firms: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war |
| title_sort | technical efficiency of ukrainian pharmaceutical firms evidence from the covid 19 pandemic and russia ukraine war |
| topic | firm size marketing expenditures pharmaceutical manufacturers scale slack analysis |
| url | https://www.businessperspectives.org/images/pdf/applications/publishing/templates/article/assets/21901/PPM_2025_01_Olasiuk.pdf |
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