PREBEM 2010 Pictures

Thank you all again for your support and participation in PREBEM 2010 conference.

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Why PREBEM?

The 11th PREBEM conference has a theme which is highly relevant to the practical realities of today’s world. I will shed light on its relevance by drawing upon my own observations from the field research which is still in process. I have observed a blurring of boundaries within and between organizations in the field of facility management services. Facility management services are all supporting services such as real estate management, cleaning, catering, security, maintenance, event management, etc.

So far as blurriness is concerned within the organizations, the relationships between different departments within an organization are changing rapidly into customer-supplier relationships, especially in the public sector in the Netherlands. The organizations have an internal market mechanism in place where the some internal departments become customers of one department for a particular service, for example, facility management services. They agree on service levels, pricing and performance measurement systems. In other words it is like bringing the market within the relationship in order to improve efficiency, enhance quality, etc. In some cases there could be captive buying-selling of services which means that the internal customers don’t have a choice of buying services from the suppliers outside of their own company. Similarly the service providing department does not sell services to the outside customers.

However, there could be free buying and selling of services where internal customers have an option of buying services from an outside supplier and the internal supplier department can sell services to external customers. In other words traditional boundaries between departments are blurring and changing the governance of relationships. Similar blurriness has also been observed between organizations. In this case it is between a supplier of facility management and their customer companies. The suppliers of facility management services have been taking over most of the employees of their client organizations.

As a result the employees transferred to the supplier company become the service provider for their parent organization. So the colleagues become suppliers. It is interesting to observe how the all the abovementioned relationships develop and change the organizational realities now and in the future. The development of these kinds of relationships in the market is blurring the customary organizational boundaries. They pose new challenges to study and discuss how and why these developments are taking place and how and why we can manage and learn to live successfully in this blurring reality of economic life.

11th PREBEM Conference in Nyenrode Castle, the Netherlnads on 19th March 2010 provides an excellent opportunity to participate in the discussions and issues related to blurring boundaries within and between organization and institutions with budding scholars as well as renowned researchers in the field such as Professor Michael Hitt, Professor Charles Weinberg and Professor John Cantwell. I am really looking forward to this event.

What about you? You can register till 5th March 2010 for this conference so hurry up and join the exciting interaction.

A Little Bit of the History Behind the Nijenrode Castle

On 19 March 2010, both the Coach House and the Nijenrode castle will host the 11th Prebem PhD-conference. We are looking forward to your attendance and invite you to take a tour of the beautiful Nijenrode estate to become part of its long and vibrant history.


Here is a brief insight for this beautiful place:

Nijenrode, which means ‘a new reclamation of wasteland’, was founded in 1270 by Gerard Splinter van Ruwiel, whose father lived in a castle two kilometers to the west on a little river called the Angstel. Around 1270, when the area began to experience an economic revival, it was thought prudent to build a fortified house of stone on the road and waterway leading from the old Episcopal city of Utrecht to the Zuyder Zee and the burgeoning mercantile centre of Amsterdam.

The Van Nijenrode’s and their kin settled their property on the Counts of Holland and, as a result, became frequently involved in the feuds between the Count of Holland and the Bishop of Utrecht or between the latter and the burghers of the city.

In 1392 the code of arms of Nijenrode got its final shape. The code of arms has been finalized by Gijsbrecht, who changed it from the version of Gerard Splinter van Ruwiel the first, who composed the code of arms originally. The code of arms exists of four quarters. The first and fourth quarter consist of the old ‘Ruwiel’ code of arms; the beam in a field of gold. Gijsbrecht based the second and third quarter on the code of arms of his mother, Maria van Persijn van Velsen. This code of arms exists of six ribbons of gold and azure with on the gold ribbons nine ‘Andrieskruisen’; respectively four, three and two. Since 1392, this code of arms of Nijenrode became the code of arms for the municipality of Breukelen and it has remained so until this day.

In 1481 and 1511, the castle was seized and ravaged by the citizens of Utrecht, but was rebuilt by the owner after each assault. The last of the Van Nijenrode family that ruled over Nijenrode was Josina. Her mother and father had died at an early age and the young girl, together with her sister Johanna, was abducted by a nobleman, Ridder Willem Torck. When the girls’ uncle complained to the Bishop, he received threatening letters from Torck’s associates.

Through Elizabeth Torck, the daughter born from the union of Willem Torck and Josina, the seigniorial rights of Nijenrode passed by the laws of inheritance to the baronial family Van den Bongard. Floris and Bernard, Elizabeth’s sons, were among the noblemen who, in Brussels in 1566, presented the famous petition to the Governess Margaret of Parma. This was the occasion on which Granvelle, Marageret’s adviser, remarked despairingly to his mistress: “Ce ne sont que des gueux” – “They are nothing but a pack of beggars”. It was this incident that caused the warriors who were engaged in fighting a war of liberation against Spain’s hegemony, to call themselves from then on by the proud name “Geuzen” or (in English) “the Beggars Legion”.

The third Bernhard van den Bongard modernized the castle in 1632, embellishing it so successfully that it achieved great renown as one of the most beautiful demesnes in the region. It became a favorite subject for the pencil or oil-brush of masters such as Jan van der Heijden, Storck and Van Ruysdael.

Because this third Bernard was childless, the property passed on to his sister and eventually came, via an elderly second cousin, in the hands of the Van Reede tot Saesfelt family.

In 1672, when France, England, Cologne and Münster attacked the Repulic of the United Provinces, the French used Nijenrode as their military headquarters during their attack on Amsterdam. In the summer of 1673, when Willem III launched a successful counteroffensive, the French troops laid waste to the estate, while Swiss mercenaries set fire to the castle. Possessing interest mainly in the east of the country, the Van Reede’s showed little interest in the derelict Nijenrode.

After it had been handed down for four centuries from family to family, it was sold in 1675 to Johan Ortt, a prosperous merchant from Amsterdam married to Anna Pergens, whose father was President of the Board of the West India Company. The new owner restored the castle, built spacious stables and a manage for his stud-horses (known as the Koetshuis or Coach house) and lived in style at Nijenrode.

Four Ortt squires lived at Nijenrode. When the last owner’s widow died in 1849 and Sara Ortt, a daughter out of the first marriage, left Nijenrode in 1853 the property was purchased by an industrialist by the name of De Heus. After the death of his son in 1903 the castle changed hands twice and was eventually acquired by Michiel Onnes, a coffee dealer from Amsterdam.

Michiel Onnes bought Nijenrode on 2 January 1907. He had plans to live there with his wife Jeanette Cockuyt, but the castle was in a very bad state. The previous owner only used the castle during the summer. During winters it was unprotected and was often used as a place to play by youngsters from Breukelen. Michiel Onnes planned to restore the castle to what it was during the 17th century when Bernard III, Baron van den Bongard Nijenrode, made Nijenrode renowned.

Onnes deserves considerable credit for what he did for Nijenrode. Between 1907 and 1918 he restored the castle and adjacent buildings to their former splendor. Michiel Onnes used a drawing, made by Theodorus Mathan of Haarlem in about 1640, as a basis for the restoration. In total Onnes invested 1,25 million in the restoration of the estate. For those times, this was an incredible amount of money.

In 1911 Onnes, his wife and adopted son (which he adopted three years earlier when he was one year old) moved to Nijenrode to live there. He kept restoring the different elements of the castle. The stone bridges, dating back to about 1860, were replaced by wooden drawbridges. The keep, which had suffered from extensive wear during the centuries until only a floor and a half remained, was rebuilt in medieval style on the old foundations (but a floor higher than it had ever been), the superstructure of the clock-tower - which had been destroyed by fire in 1673 - was restored, the Koetshuis (or Coach House) was extended and a new lodge or gate-house was erected on the site once occupied by the entrance gates in Old Dutch style.

From 1930 to 1950, the property belonged to Kunsthandel Goudstikker, a fine art dealer, who used the premises for exhibition purposes. Between 1935 and 1940 Nijenrode was visited by many to look at Goudstikker’s art collection. On 14 May 1940, Goudstikker managed to escape from the German invaders, but suffered an accident on board the ship taking him to safety and died.

Nijenrode emerged from the War intact. The Stichting Nederlands Opleidings Instituut Buitenland (N.O.I.B.), which bought the property in 1950 and thereby became the thirtieth owner, has occupied its hallowed halls since 1946. The Nijenrode Foundation has striven to preserve as much of the original character of the castle and surroundings as possible in order to safeguard the bridge which forms the link between past and posterity.

Reasons to Join the Conference

Every one and a half year, a group of PhDs from all over the Netherlands volunteer to organize the PREBEM conference. However, a conference won't be successful without enthusiastic participants. Last year, PREBEM conducted an after-conference survey and we would like to share the results with you.

We have found out that:
1) Respondents rated the overall conference with 4.09 out of 5.
2) Among all the activities, the conference organisation has scored the highest satisfaction, 4.38, following by the workshop on publication strategies, 4.31, and the plenary sessions, 4.09.

Apart from the thought-provoking keynote speech and the informative workshops, there are some more details distinguishing PREBEM from other conferences. Here are some examples of feedback written by the attendees of 2008; what they like the most of the conference:
"Small and efficient."
"To exchange new ideas and interesting questions from the audience."
"Relaxing atmosphere."
"The open communication and the networking."

PREBEM is the platform for PhDs alike to learn from renowned scholars, to share research ideas and to foster discussions. Moreover, to mingle with each other, to create networks, to listen and to be heard.

We hope you will join forces with us in the PREBEM conference this year.

Register Today

Book on the Conference.

‘The Nature of the New Firm: Beyond the Boundaries of Organizations and Institutions’ (provisional title), Edward Elgar

PREBEM is proud to announce that Killian McCarthy and Maya Fiolet have negotiated a book deal with Edward Elgar, and will produce an Edited volume, in conjunction with Prof. dr. Wilfred Dolfsma (University of Groningen).

The final volume will contain a selection of the 8-10 best upcoming conference’s papers. Also, the keynote lectures of Professors Hitt, Cantwell and Weinburg will be present. Finally, short reflections on the selected paper will be written by Professors Rodriguez (Erasmus), Beugelsdijk (Groningen) and Duysters (UNU-Merit). The final results make a fantastic academic contribution discussing the current understanding and the future developments of the nature of the firm against the current backdrop.

Clearly, the volume will not be ready by the conference. Yet we’re happy to announce that all conference participants will receive a 'voucher' in March 2010, to claim a free copy when the book is published in the Fall of 2011!

Sessions Chairs confirmed.

The PREBEM team starts the New Year announcing the confirmed Sessions Chairs for the Keynote Lectures.


Suzana B. Rodrigues is Professor of International Business and Organization at the Department of Strategic Management and Business Environment, Rotterdam School of management, Erasmus University. Prior to joining Erasmus University, Suzana was Professor of International Management and Organization at Birmingham University, UK and at UFMG, Brazil. At Birmingham, Suzana was one of the founders and Director of MSc International Business. She was also founder and Director of CIBOR - Centre for International Business and Organization Research at the University of Birmingham. She was elected a Visiting Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. Suzana received her PhD from the University of Bradford Management Centre, UK, for a study of strategic decission making in British companies. Suzana was in the Directorship and was President of the Brazilian Academy of Management from 1986 - 1990.


Geert Duysters is a professor of entrepreneurship at Eindhoven University of Technology and Tilburg University. He currently acts as the scientific director of the Brabant Center of Entrepreneurship. He also holds a professorial fellowaffiliation with UNU-MERIT. He holds a PhD in economics and has worked at the University of Maastricht and the TU Eindhoven as subsequently, researcher, assistant professor, associate professor and full professor. He worked as an alliance expert for the European Commission and the OECD. From 2000-2003 he has been the Director of the Eindhoven Centre for Innovation studies (ECIS). He also acted as Associate Dean of the faculty of technology Management from 2004-2006. His academic research mainly concerns international business strategies, innovation strategies, corporate entrepreneurship, mergers and acquisitions, network analytical methods and strategic alliances.


Sjoerd Beugelsdijk is full professor International Business and Management at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. His research interests are in the fields of international business, institutional economics and comparative economic organization theory. He received a PhD from Tilburg University (The Netherlands) in 2003, for a thesis concerning the relationship between culture and economic behavior. In 2004 Sjoerd visited Copenhagen Business School, the European University Institute in Florence, and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. And in 2006 received a three year research grant of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, that allowed him to spend some time at the Center for Strategic Management and Globalisation in Copenhagen in 2007, and IGIER research institute of Bocconi University (Milan) in 2008. His current research concentrates on three main areas: Institutions and the geography of the multinational firm; Culture, institutions and economic performance; Innovation, social capital and institutions. His main methodological approach is empirical.

Block March 19th, 2010 in your agenda to come to Nyenrode Business Universiteit and discuss blurring boundaries in business, economics and management disciplines.