vACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”
-Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)^1 -No dissertation can result from sole individual effort. Certainly, mine did not. While my biography
acknowledges those, whose ideas I have borrowed and built upon, here it is my privilege to thank the people
who have contributed to this dissertation in obvious and less obvious ways. These words are simply shorthand
for my feelings of gratitude.
First of all, I would like to thank my supervisors Rob van Tulder and Dirk van Dierendonck. Although I have
not made it easy for them to supervise me, being very stubborn in my deliberation, they have guided me along
the way. They asked diverging questions where they figured the reasoning and evidence was too narrow and
posing converging questions, where they saw many interesting pieces of knowledge connected, yet no
distillation of the essence thereof. The combination of their qualities, Rob asking how the topic of my research
was embedded in the broader context and Dirk making sure the empirics were sound and solid, has been very
contributive to the PhD process in itself and to the final product.
Second, but most important, I would like to mention the love of my life, Marcel van Gils, who has supported
and encouraged me, even though working on my PhD did not make me the most inspiring person to be with.
Amidst his own unrelentless drive, he has always been there for me, providing sound quality checks from a
OD\SHUVRQ¶V SHUVSHFWLYH. His rock solid character has kept me on track, preventing me from becoming a
³working PDFKLQH ́E\FRQWLQXRXVO\UHDFKLQJRXWIRUP\KHDUWLove you mgl!
Furthermore, my lovely parents Roelf and Geertje Duursema. I am more than grateful for the opportunities they
have provided me with, but even more so, I am thankful for their unconditional love and their wisdom for
allowing me to make my own mistakes. I feel very privileged to have such loving parents who are able to
challenge me and at the same time make me feel that I can conquer the world. In fact, the whole idea of shared
leadership originates from the relationship that my parents have, being complementary in their personalities and
their approach to life.
I would also like to express words of gratitude to my dear brothers Jos and Egbert Duursema. You guys are the
EHVW7KH\VD\\RXFDQQRWFKRRVH\RXUIDPLO\EXW,ZRXOGKDYH³FKRVHQ ́\RX:HPD\QRWVHHHDFKRWKHU
often, but I know you are always there for me. The same holds for my sister-in-law Jolijn Heine, who has been
(^1) Sir Isaac Newton (1642 ±1727) was an English physicist.