A01 chaf6542 06 se fm indd

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The direction of any expansion. Should the company aim to direct ownership at the 

upstream or downstream supply chain? The pharmaceuticals companies referred to 

above have decided to buy into the downstream part of the supply network (downstream 

vertical integration). This is sometimes referred to as an offensive strategic move since 

it enables the company to increase its power with respect to customers. Alternatively, if 

the pharmaceuticals company purchased other research labs this would be  upstream‑ 

 directed vertical integration which is strategically defensive.