Exploring new frontiers in joint venture research Balogh, Nora
DOI:
10.33612/diss.98633889
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Publication date: 2019
Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database
Citation for published version (APA):
Balogh, N. (2019). Exploring new frontiers in joint venture research: post-formation dynamics and microfoundations in wind farm joint ventures. University of Groningen, SOM research school. https://doi.org/10.33612/diss.98633889
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Acknowledgements
In January 2015, when I first came across the four-year PhD position advertised on the University of Groningen website, I had very little knowledge about what doing a PhD would entail. Now, four and a half years later, I can describe it as the personality boot-camp (one I very much needed), and the first steps into a potential career I feel very much at home in. In this final section of the dissertation, I would like to thank and acknowledge those who supported me along these past four year.
I would first like to thank my supervisors Dries, Isabel and Gjalt for providing a tremendous supervisory team. Dries, I am very grateful that you took a chance on me (and my often unnecessarily overboard enthusiasm for wind energy). You are an excellent mentor, one who has given me time and space to learn and an example in where I want to grow in research. Thank you for your support, especially when I had no idea where I was actually going; and for accepting that I make a lot of jokes at our meetings. Isabel, your passion towards research and deep insights always swept me up when I needed a bit of push to carry on. Your day-to-day input on my dissertation through important comments and read-troughs of drafts has truly formed these close to 200 pages. Thank you for also supporting me fiercely in some of the more challenging months of the PhD process, and for encouraging me to stay true to myself under any circumstance. I will really miss you! I am so grateful for everything that you and Dries have taught me, and look forward to continuing projects as co-authors. Gjalt, thank you for supporting
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and championing this dissertation from the beginning. As the only familiar face at the beginning of my new position in Groningen, you have provided a lot of support in the start-up of my PhD process, and have remained a constant supporter of my work along the way. Thank you for everything you have done for this dissertation in these four years. I would also like to thank you Jeff for co-authoring one of the chapters of this dissertation. I am grateful for your insights, and look forward to or continuing collaboration. I am grateful to the members of my assessment committee, Professor de Faria, Professor Ariño and Professor de Man, for your expert feedback on my dissertation.
My everyday life as a PhD student would have been much less rewarding if it hadn’t been for the lovely people I worked with at IM&S Department at the University of Groningen. Pedro, thank you for making every workday at the office a bit warmer, funnier; lunch breaks with you and the rest of the department always felt similar to a large family Christmas dinner (although I suspect you might say that that’s not a positive thing). I really enjoyed our conversations, and look forward to more of them in the future. I’d also like to thank Florian, John, Phillip, Jana, Killian, Samuele, Thijs and David for our interesting discussions and for everything I learned from you about publishing and research. Thank you Clemens for your support in all of my teaching activities, and Jordi for your support of my research. I would also like to thank Iris, Jeannette, Tinneke, Desiree, Mirjam and Amanda for your support and for always having a kind word for me when I would stop by your office. Thank you to the graduate school of the University (SOM) and in particular to Ellen, Arthur, Rina and Christian for providing invaluable opportunities to grow in my academic career, through attending international
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conferences and through a three-week visit to the University of Colorado in Boulder. I would also like to acknowledge colleagues that I worked with before starting my PhD journey. My working experiences in the wind energy sector served as an initial motivation and ongoing inspiration for my PhD, and so I would like to particularly thank you Alexis for everything you have taught me about wind energy and strategy; and the great team at Green Giraffe for letting me experience the project finance side of renewable energy projects, and for teaching me practically everything I know about Excel.
I have been preceded by fellow PhD students who have greatly influenced my PhD experience. Thank you Brenda and Georgiana for setting the standard for doing a PhD and for guiding me (especially through your printed dissertations on my desk) along the way. Thank you Edin for our lovely conversations as roommates and for being a great optimist. Thank you Holmer for your tremendous advice (whether through writing on verbal), for helping me with research problems, and for always being open to having a talk. I am looking forward to working together on our new projects, which already now inspire me a great deal! Thank you Sarah for our lovely lunches, pizza nights, dog walks, and for always being supportive of me. Aneta, we have had front-row seats to each-others PhDs, and I am grateful that you have been my friend and confidant throughout these years. I am so grateful we share this experience, and look forward to new ones outside of Groningen.
This will probably not shock those who know me a bit, but I am not someone to reach out for help very easily. Luckily, I have an incredible safety net of family and friends who know this, and always made sure I know I can count on them if the “going gets
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rough” as they say. First, thank you Mom and Dad for making me feel loved every single day. Mom, you always know what to say to cheer me up, and know when to listen when I need that. Dad, you are my inspiration to not shy away from challenges, and I luckily also inherited a lot of your sense of humour, which I needed a lot of in the past four years. You have both made sacrifices to help me get where I am today, and I hope that hearing me talk about my research at my PhD defence will be a confirmation to you that all these years of living abroad have absolutely been worth it. Peti, thank you for being my big brother and for always finding time for me! Thank you to my extended family in Budapest (Ildi, Szilard and the boys, and Anka) for your love and the fantastic Christmas dinners. I owe a huge thank you to my Groningen family, whose support helped me overcome a lot of challenges during these four years. Loes, thank you for your love and caring and for always making me smile; and for introducing me to hopjesvla. Stefan, thank you for our lovely conversations, and your (often daily) help in navigating my complicated living situation. I always felt like you two are my “Groningen parents” rather than just my parents-in-law. Thank you to both of you for making sure I was never lonely in Groningen! Thank you to my extended family (Jootje, Bas, Teun and Anna; Steef, Sanneke, Thomas and Rutger) for your love from day one, and for always encouraging me that I will be able to do the PhD. I love you all! I would like to also thank my friends currently living at various points around the globe. Whether I have known you since the old days in Hungary or have become dear friends in the last few years, I consider myself very lucky to have you in my life. I would especialy like to thank you Erika, Orsi, Kiki, Agi, Adam, Balazs, Viktor, Eni, Angeliki & Chris, Shelley, Lies, Ivan, Marian & Rutger! I
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would also like to acknowledge two mentors who have been guiding me in the last years: Zsofi and Maxi, thank you for teaching me to (try to) be kinder to myself.
As my adventure in Groningen dates back to us meeting in 2014, it is only fitting that the final thoughts of my PhD go towards my boyfriend-turned-fiancée-turned-husband Vincent. Although we fit very well together anyway (we are the two biggest dorks I know), the PhD experience has shown me that you are truly, without exaggeration, my better half. You championed my research ideas fiercely, even when I had serious doubts; you were always optimistic when I felt overwhelmed; and most importantly, you countered my (mostly destructive) self-talk with compassion and so much love. Thank you for being my schatje, Schatje! I love you and our two furry extensions (Fredje and Tinkie) every day a little bit more.
Nora Balogh Liverpool September 2019
