Pharmacy Management
Research team
Professor Lesley White, Professor of Pharmacy Management
Johnson & Johnson – Pharmacy Practice Foundation
Chair of Pharmacy Management
Wendy Poyser, Associate Lecturer, Pharmacy Management
Carmen Barr, Administrative Assistant, Chair of Pharmacy Management
Research summary
Our research focuses on the issues inherent in running a pharmacy as a business including: aspects of finance, human resources, team leadership, negotiation, marketing, change management and organisational flexibility.
Change management is a particular area of focus because community pharmacy has been progressively moving from a product focus to a product/service mix. The provision of professional pharmacy services is being evaluated alongside the ability of community pharmacies to adapt their businesses and build the capacity to integrate services into daily practice.
Hence, there are essentially two streams to our research:
- Running a viable business
- Providing a professional service
Research projects
All projects include studies concerning marketing, accounting, human resources, organization behaviour, change management and leadership. All projects are conducted in the context of retail or hospital pharmacy.
As the first centre in Australia, and one of only a few internationally focusing on Pharmacy Management, this is a greenfields area and a huge number of possible projects will provide valuable managerial and academic contributions. The aim is to research topics which will improve the competitiveness of pharmacy.
Pharmacy schools nationwide have been extremely successful in training graduates in the scientific and clinical accomplishments required for their future careers. However approximately 85% of graduates take up a career in retail pharmacy where small business management skills are vital for success. To date, there has been relatively little teaching or research undertaken in this area. Whilst the primary focus will be on retail management, much of this material is equally applicable to hospital pharmacy, where similarly there is a paucity of research into management issues.
Pharmacy Management research will cover the spectrum of business management topics such as marketing, accounting and financial management, human resources, organization behavior, change management and leadership.The University of Sydney Faculty of Pharmacy has close ties with retail and hospital pharmacy as well as with industry and has received outstanding levels of support and enthusiasm regarding the establishment of the Chair of Pharmacy Management. These relationships will be an integral component of the successful introduction of strong ongoing Pharmacy Management research projects.
Possible research areas:
- service quality
- strategic management
- performance measurement
- human resources
- retail marketing
- organization behavior
- small business management
- automated dispensing technology
- barriers to entry
HDR candidates
- Carter, Stephen R.
Doctor of Philosophy (full-time)
Submit date: February 2010
"Consumer awareness and perception of Home Medicine Reviews"
Primary supervisor: Professor Lesley White
Associate supervisors: Chen and Moles - Gill, Liz
Doctor of Philosophy (full-time)
Submit date: July 2013
"Factors which influence the formation of quality in a pubic health care service: A triadic study"
Primary supervisor: Professor Lesley White
Associate supervisor: Douglas - Rickwood, Catherine M.
Doctor of Philosophy (full-time)
Submit date: July 2010
"Decision delay and saving for retirement"
Primary supervisor: Professor Lesley White
Associate supervisor: Johnson - Snell, Lan
Doctor of Philosophy (full-time)
Submit date: July 2011
"Service quality an adherence: A consumer based study of non-adherence behaviour in weight-loss setting"
Primary supervisor: Professor Lesley White
Associate supervisor: Dagger - Swain, Lindy
Doctor of Philosophy (part-time)
Submit date: July 2012
"Developing strategies to increase uptake of Home Medicine Review in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities"
Primary supervisor: Professor Lesley White
Associate supervisor: Dr Tim Chen - Welling, Raymond G.
Doctor of Philosophy (part-time)
Submit date: February 2015
"The impact of firm orientation on e-business adoption and business performance"
Primary supervisor: Professor Lesley White
Associate supervisor: Professor Carol Armour - Wilkie, Dean C.
Doctor of Philosophy (part-time)
Submit date: February 2017
"Competitive reference price theory"
Primary supervisor: Professor Lesley White
Associate supervisor: Johnson
Competitive research grants
- "Increasing patient demand for Home Medicine Reviews: A marketing plan"
Pharmacy Guild of Australia
White, Simpson, Clark
$199,935
2007 - 2009
Recent publications
- Rickwood C, White L (2009). Pre-purchase decision-making for a complex service: Retirement planning, Journal of Services Marketing, 23:3, 145-153, DOI 10.1108/08876040910955152.
- Snell L, White L (2009). An exploratory study of the application of internal marketing in professional service organisations, Services Marketing Quarterly, 30:3, 195-211, DOI:10.1080/15332960902993460.
- Gill L, White L (2009). A critical review of patient satisfaction, Leadership in Health Services, 22:1, 8 – 19.
- White L, Clark C (2009). Stakeholders’ views of service quality in community pharmacy: A qualitative study, In press, Health Marketing Quarterly, for 27:1, Will probably be 2010.
- Clark C, White L (2009). Entry barriers in retail pharmacy: A novel model, Accepted, International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, June 2009.
- Gill L, White L, Cameron I (2009).Transitional aged care and the patient’s view of quality, Quality in Aging, Under revision, June 2009.
- White L (2009). Key factors in the implementation of an automated dispensing system in community pharmacy, International Journal of Health Care and Technology Management, Under revision and resubmitted June 2009.
- Snell L, White L (2009). Service quality and adherence in a health care setting, submitted April 2009, Journal of Services Marketing.
- Yanamandram V, White L (2009). An empirical test of a social exchange model of retention of dissatisfied business to business services customers, submitted May 2009, Industrial Marketing Management.
- Ruparelia N, White L, Hughes K (2009). Drivers of trust in internet retailing, submitted June 2009, Journal of Product and Brand Management.
- Queddeng K, White L, Voola R (2009). The servicescape in retail pharmacy: The influence of sore attributes on customer perceptions of service quality, Submitted July 2009, Managing Service Quality.
- Liu CS, White L (2009). Key determinants of hospital pharmacy staff’s job satisfaction, Research in Social Administrative Pharmacy, under revision February 2009.