Drug development during COVID-19: A proximity approach to tackling the world’s most wicked problem

Abstract

Norgrove, Deanna J., Drug development during COVID-19: A proximity approach to tackling the world’s most wicked problem. Master of Bioscience Enterprise, April 28, 2021, The University of Auckland, New Zealand. COVID-19 is a wicked problem. Wicked problems have long been regarded as unsolvable. This is not useful for managers faced with tackling such problems. With COVID-19 such an imminent threat worldwide, we cannot accept that there is no solution to the current global pandemic. This thesis shows how a proximity approach can be used to tackle wicked problems in a more useful way than the current literature provides. While wicked problems are a function of both the uncertainty of a problem, and the conflicting values between stakeholders, recent literature only provides an approach which tackles the problem uncertainty aspect, a “small wins strategy”. This strategy stems from the small wins literature and is based on the concept of breaking down wicked problems into more manageable sub-problems, reducing problem uncertainty. Under appropriate conditions, successes against sub-problems or ‘small wins’ can accumulate into greater overall progress towards resolving the wicked problem. This thesis identifies the negligence of the second dimension underlying wicked problems; conflicting values between stakeholders, known as ‘stakeholder divergence’. Through a review of the literature, this thesis inductively develops the hypothesis that a proximity approach may be used to tackle wicked problems by tackling stakeholder divergence. It then explores how it may do so. Central to the resolution of COVID-19 is the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, this research interviewed stakeholders in the pharmaceutical industry who were involved in solving COVID-19 related sub-problems and were developing either COVID-19 drugs or drugs for other disease areas. Through a qualitative methodology, this thesis shows how a proximity approach can be used to tackle wicked problems, such as COVID-19. Social proximity is higher when stakeholder divergence is low. Business practices which increase social proximity beneficially effect organisational, social, cultural, and institutional proximity. This thesis therefore shows that social proximity is the catalyst when tackling wicked problems such as COVID-19. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, Coronavirus-19, Collaboration, Proximity, Wicked problems, Complex problems, Drug development, Pharmaceutical industry, Small wins.