Data and methodology

A two-phase, sequential mixed methods study is applied for the purpose of this dissertation, which is to analyse for radical innovation projects in pharmaceutical biotechnology how early stages of the innovation process can be effectively managed with the aim to enter the late stage of the innovation process and to transfer the innovation from academia to industry. Creswell et al. (2003, p.212) defined a mixed methods study as “the collection or analysis of both quantitative and/or qualitative data in a single study in which the data are collected concurrently or sequentially, are given a priority, and involve the integration of the data at one or more stages in the process of research.” There have been intensive debates in research between two “schools of thought” with different research paradigms, scholars pursuing quantitative research (“positivists/post-positivists”) versus those conducting qualitative studies (“constructivists and interpretivists”) (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie 2004).