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Multinational enterprises, institutions and sustainable development
Fortanier, F.N.
Publication date
2008
Link to publication
Citation for published version (APA):
Fortanier, F. N. (2008). Multinational enterprises, institutions and sustainable development.
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A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
According to custom, the acknowledgements of a dissertation are the very few pages in which the ‘doctor-to-be’ can share a few personal words – implying that the rest of the work is objective, academic, and not personal at all. Yet without proclaiming an adherence to an excessively post-modernist perspective of science, I dare say that the other 300-odd pages of this document are also highly personal. In the first place, the process of writing the dissertation is a strong experience of personal growth. It is a process in which you learn that often, less is more, while you’re continuously confronted with the fact that the more you learn, the less you know. It is a process of realizing that what you wrote last night as the top of your possibilities seems child’s play in the morning, while anticipating that you’ll feel the same tomorrow about what you wrote today. For me, the dissertation writing process has also been a period of much travel, many parallel projects, and way too little time.
But a dissertation is also highly personal in choice of topics and methods. Starting from a background in business administration, I have been intrigued for years by the role that firms play in society, by the great positive and negative emotions – see the anti-globalization movements – that the activities of the largest among them instigate, and by the great divergence in academic findings with respect to the societal consequences of the international activities of multinational enterprises in particular. It is this broad personal interest that has led me to embark on a wide range of different projects and papers in the past years, some of which have now been combined into this dissertation. Some of the papers in this thesis are already polished and published, others still a bit rough on the edges. But I am happy that together, they reflect the variety of topics that I have worked on – even if that has also resulted in a rather broad thesis title. I sincerely hope that these papers also combine the depth and rigor with the breadth and relevance that I believe academics with a sense of ‘academic social responsibility’ should strive for and that the particular topic of multinationals and development requires.
Luckily, I did not have to do this all alone. I am very grateful for the help of many, both professionally and personally. Without their comments, support, insights, time, advice, attention and suggestions, without their willingness to debate, discuss and explain so many of the large and small issues one unavoidably encounters on the journey of writing a PhD dissertation, and without their friendship and love, this dissertation would be of less quality, and the process of writing it much less interesting and fun.
A very warm and heartfelt ‘thank you’ is first of all due to my PhD supervisor Ans Kolk. She took me on and created for me the most liberal and wonderful position a PhD student could dream of. Every topic and every research technique was possible, no single course was mandatory. This freedom was matched by her equally great commitment to my dissertation and process of writing it, and to my personal wellbeing. Allowing me to embark on a range of different projects and to learn from my own stubbornness and mistakes (which I made, and still make, plenty despite all her warnings and advice), she made the past years an unforgettable experience.
I am also very grateful to the committee of professors who read the dissertation: Danny van den Bulcke, John Dunning, Louise Fresco, Jacques van der Gaag and Kea Tijdens. All of them have been sources of inspiration and support in various stages of my dissertation, through their writings and in person. John Dunning and Danny van den Bulcke have shown a very kind interest in my research from the early start. I particularly want to thank John Dunning for his willingness to write a paper with me; this has been pivotal in helping me to integrate the set of papers of my dissertation in a coherent whole. My thanks also goes to Kea Tijdens for letting me use the Wage Indicator dataset for the Netherlands in chapter 7.
As a very dear friend and most inspiring academic, I would like to thank Rob van Tulder for everything he taught me. From the day I started as his assistant – about ten years ago already – until today, he has not failed once in encouraging, challenging and supporting me. His voice continues to resonate in much of my work.
Throughout the years of writing this dissertation, I have been lucky to work with a team of wonderful colleagues in Amsterdam. Especially Jonatan Pinkse, Mark van der Veen and Alan Muller were companions who learned me a lot about research and teaching. Jonatan merits additional thanks as a never-failing guide to the UvA bureaucracy and the city of Amsterdam: vital for the integration of this ‘Rotterdamse’!
I also greatly appreciate the hospitality of the department of Business-Society Management at the RSM Erasmus University in Rotterdam, where I was able to spend my Fridays at the SCOPE Research Centre studying multinational enterprises. Lucas Meijs and Jeroen van Wijk changed roles from teachers to colleagues and have been great as both, while Arjen Slangen has been an inspiring co-author.
The SCOPE team of research assistants has been vital in gathering the data that are presented in chapter 4. Eva Oskam in particular was indispensable, but also Sandra Genee, Frea Haandrikman, Fennie Lansbergen, Erikhans Kok, Ingwell Kuil and Ismaela Stöteler worked hard and meticulously to collect, check, recheck and check again (sic) the internationalization data that are included in the SCOPE database. Part of the data collection also took place in collaboration with UNCTAD, where Jovan Licina, Jean-Francois Outreville, Masataka Fujita and Anne Miroux played important roles in harmonizing and upgrading the data.
Nearly every other Friday afternoon in the past two years has been filled with discussions with the ‘Researchers’ group organized by Rob van Tulder. I greatly cherish the sessions in which Myrtille Danse, Hester Duursema, Govert Gijsbers, Margriet Glazenborg, Jolanda Hessels, Saskia Kersemaekers, Romy Kraemer, Larissa van der Lugt, Michiel Nijdam, Ron Meyer, Arjen Slangen and Johanna Wolfbauer have inspired me through their presentations, and challenged me with thorough comments on my own work. I also very much enjoyed and appreciated the discussions about international business and development that I had with colleagues overseas, in particular Axèle Giroud, Geoffrey Jones, Sarianna Lundan, Rajneesh Narula and Joanna Scott-Kennel. I want to thank Alain Verbeke and Alan Rugman as well, for spending valuable time in giving me detailed suggestions for some of the papers I wrote in the past years. Maria Maher helped me draft my very first literature review of the FDI-development debate.
I now share my time between the University of Amsterdam and Statistics Netherlands. My new colleagues at SN have given me a warm welcome, and I have been lucky to find a great team of people with whom to tackle the wide variety of issues associated with measuring globalization and its consequences for the Netherlands. Dear Marjolijn Jaarsma, Frits Mullenders, Paul de Winden, Carola Mesters, Ken Arentsen, Giel Steijns, Mark Vancauteren, Martin Luppes and many others, I look forward to continue working with you!
On a personal note, my friends Eva Oskam and Cathérine Brillouet will no doubt be stellar paranymphs during the official defence of this thesis. I can not thank them enough for their friendship and interest, and for making sure I had a proper dinner every now and then! Cath, your energy is always uplifting and your challenging questions have often kept me thinking for long. Eva, you have truly been a ‘running mate’, not only as a key member of the SCOPE team, but especially as we ran our training miles and discussed life and work and politics, and preferably all at the same time.
Also other friends have supported me during this period, and were great reminders that there is much more to life than doing research. Dear Johanna, Ron, Geoff, Pauline and Ingwell, thanks for sticking by me!
Dearest Manon, thanks for all your support and interest. Although you’re still my ‘little’ sister, you have been no less than great in making sure I kept my ‘beide benen op de grond’.
My final word of thanks is for my parents, who have always stimulated me to learn, to explore, and to give my best, but who also continuously reassured and supported me in all the important choices I made. As the colophon shows, getting this dissertation ready for print has in many ways been a team effort. I am very proud of the beautiful painting by my father that decorates the front cover, and so grateful for the warm hospitality in those difficult days of finalizing the manuscript, and many other times. Thank you so much!!
