📊 Study Overview

The ATIS Framework emerged from a rigorous three-round qualitative study designed to identify success factors for global AI projects by examining the interaction between technical triggers and cross-cultural dynamics.

48
International Experts
1,392
Analytical Units
279
Negative Cases
170.8%
Firefighting Gap
"Data science is that like a lot of times, we don't know. It's different. We don't know the answers, right?"
— P5, Data Scientist (from interviews)

🔬 Research Methodology

The study employed a hybrid computational-qualitative approach across three stages:

📝

Stage 1

Exploratory Inductive

Manual thematic analysis establishing 35-subtheme taxonomy with "human-in-the-loop" grounding

🤖

Stage 2

Abductive Expansion

LLM-powered "Latent Semantic Scan" revealing emergent codes (stochasticity, autocatalysis)

📈

Stage 3

Confirmatory Deductive

6-phase hybrid validation with Python-based clustering and 44 seed papers

⏳ Research Timeline

March 2023

Round 1

5 expert interviews focused on AI lifecycle and organizational context

May 2023

Round 2

5 interviews testing emergent themes; abductive pivot to include organizational and leadership agency

March-April 2025

Round 3

38 large-scale interviews for computational validation (post-LLM deployment era)

👥 Expert Panel N=48

Maximum variation sampling across roles and geographies (Patton, 2015)

18
Project Managers
16
AI Engineers
14
Business Translators
44
One-on-One
4
Group Interviews

🌍 Geographic Representation

🇺🇸 USA 🇬🇧 UK 🇫🇷 France 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇮🇳 India 🇰🇪 Kenya 🇯🇵 Japan 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇦🇪 UAE 🇨🇱 Chile 🇵🇪 Peru 🇳🇵 Nepal 🇹🇿 Tanzania 🇵🇰 Pakistan 🇨🇳 China 🇩🇪 Germany

📡 Recruitment Channels

Participants were sourced from 7 prominent AI and Data Science communities on Slack, plus professional networks.

Data Science Salon (DSS)
Data Talks Club
TWIML Community
ODSC Global
Convergence
DRE Community
MLOps Community
Professional Networks
622
Total Contacted
8%
Conversion Rate

📄 Key Publications

The Friction of AI Specificities in Cross-Cultural Projects
Hariri, Y.
Journal of AI Project Management, 2026
Abstract: This paper presents the ATIS Framework and Causal Chain Model based on 48 expert interviews. Identifies four AI specificities (stochastic uncertainty, autocatalysis, process disruption, high expectations) and their 170.8% co-occurrence with reactive management.
View Publication →
The "Slang Hunter": A Hybrid Computational-Qualitative Methodology
Hariri, Y.
Qualitative Research Methods, 2026
Abstract: Details the six-phase hybrid methodology using LLMs for latent semantic alignment, Python-based clustering, and analysis of 279 negative cases as resilience buffers.
View Publication →

📚 Theoretical Foundation

The study's theoretical rubric was developed from seminal seed papers for each AI specificity:

Plus 40 additional papers identified via Litmaps citation network analysis (N=44 total).

⚠️ Research Limitations

The study acknowledges specific boundary conditions:

1. Single-Sided Stakeholder Perspective

Focus on practitioners means client-side expectations remain theoretically inferred.

2. Digital Ecosystem Sampling Bias

Slack-based recruitment may underrepresent siloed sectors (defense, proprietary R&D).

3. Survivorship Bias

Experienced experts may have automated responses to friction that novices still struggle with.

🔒 Ethics & Anonymization

All participants provided informed consent before interviews. To preserve anonymity:

"The guys that work with us were not from data science... they do not know why the model was giving them that answer. We need this responsibility."
— P2, used with permission

🏛️ Academic Partners

Rennes SB
Rennes School of Business
UpGrad
Online Education Partner

🤝 Collaborate With Us

Interested in applying the ATIS Framework in your organization or collaborating on research?

Contact Principal Researcher Download Resources

Youssef HARIRI • Rennes School of Business • youssef.hariri@rennes-sb.com