I’m S. James Ellis, a PhD fellow in business administration/strategic management at Radboud University, The Netherlands. I come from the Mojave (moh-HAH-vee) Desert in California, and I specialize in qualitative primary research of organizations, strategic change, and collaborative innovation.

During my time working and researching how companies collaborate in order to innovate, I joined research & development teams to improve processes, products, and services. I wrote ‘thought leadership’ publications in an industry consultant role, and I started noticing a preoccupation with quantitative research in innovation management. This is a problem.

Why do companies need qualitative information over quantitative information? If quantitative research looks for specific dimensions of a large dataset (e.g., how many faults does each version of a new product launch contain, and where do they originate?), qualitative research examines context around these dimensions (e.g., how do these faults originate, how can internal processes/routines be modified to save time/cost, and will the end user notice a difference in experience?). This approach uncovers many critically important details that quantitative research methods alone miss.

However, both quantitative and qualitative methods have their downsides. Quantitative misses fidelity; qualitative takes time. The ideal method is a mix between the two. Through Mojavian, I can leverage my substantial network of industry consultants, thought leaders, and ecosystem engineers to customize a solution for any innovation problem you may face.