1. ¹University of St Gallen, Institute of Information Management, Müller Friedberg-Str. 8, 9000, St Gallen, Switzerland, Tel. +41 71 224 3378, Fax: +41 71 224 2777, Email: roger.heutschi@unisg.ch
2. ²Project Manager of the Competence Center Business Networking 2 at the Institute of Information Management, University of St Gallen, Switzerland
3. ³Global Head of Sales and Marketing Information Management, Roche
4. ⁴Professor at the University of St Gallen(HSG)

Revised 21 July 2003.

Abstract

E-detailing, which is understood to mean an IT-supported sales dialogue via the internet, has mainly been an issue in the USA in the last few years, where it has been heavily pushed by service providers. Recently, Europe has also seen more and more pharmaceutical companies expanding their conventional pharmaceutical product marketing to include electronic channels for interacting with their customers. It has been shown, however, that the approaches and experience in the USA are not readily transferable to Europe: legal restrictions, more heterogeneous markets, the novelty of communication channels and a lack of platform providers make it harder for pharmaceutical companies to exploit the potential of e-detailing. The findings of a study conducted between summer 2002 and spring 2003 suggest that electronic opportunities for customer contact and interaction should be embedded in a more comprehensive spectrum of services supporting customers in their daily processes, which goes beyond straightforward product promotion.