Dr. James Roberts

Profile

Qualifications

PhD, Leeds University, Institute of Communications Studies MBA, Warwick Business School BA Politics, Warwick Chartered Institute of Marketing, Diploma

Experience

Before undertaking my recent doctoral studies, I spent 12 years in strategic consulting, latterly with Oliver Wyman, working for media, entertainment and communication clients on a wide variety of strategy and innovation related projects.

Clients included: BBC, Canal+ (France), Channel 4, EMI, IBM, Pearson, Portugal Cable, Rai (Italy), Sony (PlayStation and Networks divisions), Tele Denmark, Vivendi (France), Vodafone (UK and Sweden), Viacom (US- Cable, UK - MTV), Walt Disney (UK sales, US - Imagineering), Warner Bros (music, video and corporate divisions, US and UK). Regulatory work included being called as an expert witness to the European Commission in the AOL / EMI / Warner merger case, and ongoing advice to regulators (Ofcom) and leading law firms in the media sector. Advised private equity and investment banking clients on assessment of new initiatives and ventures in the media and communications sectors.        

Teaching

Leeds University Business School

Module leader – Management in Practice (MSc)

Module leader – Leading in Practice (MBA)

Module leader – Strategy and entrepreneurial management (MBA)

Module leader – Creative industries management (MSc)

Teaching, assessment and administrative duties on LUBS 5735M Strategic Management (MBA)

Teaching, assessment and administrative duties on LUBS 5225M Strategic Management (MSc.)

Teaching, assessment and administrative duties on LUBS 3070 Strategic Management (undergrad.)

Teaching, assessment and administrative duties on LUBS 2660 Principles of corporate strategy (undergrad.)

Teaching, assessment and administrative duties on LUBS 5730M (Exec. MBA) Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Teaching, assessment and administrative duties on LUBS 5712M (Exec. MBA) Management of Projects

Teaching, assessment and administrative duties on LUBS 5657M New product development

 

Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds

Teaching assistant on five courses during PhD: History of Communications; Communications Revolution; Introduction to Cinema; International Film industry; Communications Policy. Teaching, seminar and assessment work

 

Other academic activities

Ad-hoc teaching at Leeds University Law School, School of Mechanical Engineering

Ad-hoc visiting lecturer at Universities of Warwick, Westminster and Leeds Metropolitan University.

External examiner for PhD at Manchester University.

External reviewer for MBA programmes at Liverpool, Manchester and Coventry Universities.

 

 

Director, full time MBA

Lecturer in strategy and innovation

Responsibilities

• Programme director, full time MBA

Research interests

Academic research into the role of intermediaries  in the commercialisation of academic research in the sciences. Major methodologies include participant observation, action research and depth interviewing.         

Research into innovation and dynamic capabilities in the creative and cultural industries.

 

Conference presentations

CRESC annual conference 2007, Re-thinking the cultural economy.

Media, Communications and Cultural Studies Association symposium 2008, Mending the Gaps: Re-thinking media theory and Practice.

Media, Communications and Cultural Studies Association Annual conference, 2009, Exploding the myths of cultural industries research.

Media European Media Management Association (EMMA) Conference 2010, The Changing Ecology of the Media, plenary speaker.

15th International Conference of Communication, 2011, Navarro

• Product portfolio management in the media industries: Putting the ‘bust’ back into ‘blockbuster’.

• The challenges of large scale media organization in a multi platform environment: lessons from the 1990s

British Academy of Management annual conference, 2011

• Development paper: Researching the nature of innovation in the entertainment sector – awarded best paper in track – nominated for BAM and Emerald Advanced Authorship Scheme
• Workshop: researching cultures of innovation: university science research

British Academy of Management annual conference, 2012

• Engaged Research PDW, Paul Ellwood, James Roberts, Richard Thorpe

ISPIM annual conference 2012

• Critical Friends: Working with Management Researchers for the Commercialisation of University Science, Paul Ellwood, James Roberts, Richard Thorpe, Ceri Williams

2nd International Action Learning Conference 2012

Paper presentation: Action Learning Research - Theorising in the Set, Jeff Gold, Paul Ellwood, James Roberts,

ISPIM annual conference 2013

Paper presentation: Closing the Translation Gap - Medical Technologies Innovation, Ceri Williams, James Roberts

Paper Presentation: Innovation development – an action learning programme for medical scientists, Paul Ellwood, Jeff Gold, James Roberts, Richard Thorpe

 

 

Book chapters

Marketing issues in the film industry today, in Petrie D. (ed.) 1992, New Questions of British Cinema, BFI publications.

Broadcast Media, in Moss, S. (ed.) 2009, The Entertainment Industry: an introduction, CABI, Oxford.

The future of home entertainment, in Walmsley, B. (ed.) 2011, Key issues in the arts and entertainment industry, Goodfellow, Oxford.

The future of media, in Moss, S. (ed.), Entertainment Management: Towards Best Practice CABI, Oxford. Forthcoming

 

Refereed articles

 

Roberts J, Revisiting the creative/commercial clash: decision making during product development in the television industry, Media Culture & Society, 2010, 32:51

Roberts J, Producers’ decision making during product development in the televison industry: adressing the cognitive gap, International Journal of Media Management, 2011, 4.

Roberts J, Evolving products: from intelligent design to self organising systems, Technology Forecasting and Social Change, 84, 2014, 15-28

Roberts, J., Ellwood, P., Innovation Development – An Action Learning Programme for Medical Scientists and Engineers, Action Learning: Research and Practice

 

Grants

• ESRC: grant reference RES-073-27-0025 - the management of health innovation in the context of emerging technologies, €90,983

Review roles

• 2012 Appointed as Academic Member of ESRC Peer Review College

  2012 Appointed as Academic Member of NeMode Review College