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Meet MSM's Faculty Members: Introducing Diederik de Boer

27-07-2017

Maastricht School of Management provides scientific knowledge allowing managers and entrepreneurs to make evidence-based decisions. To achieve our mission we encourage and support our faculty members in a broad range of areas. MSM’s faculty members are passionate about what they do and tenacious in finding solutions to the toughest business challenges. Each month MSM will highlight one of its faculty members and this month the spotlight is on Diederik de Boer

Let me introduce myself…
My name is Diederik de Boer (Dutch), Director International Projects and Consultancies and Associate Professor in Sustainable Business Development at Maastricht School of Management. I hold a PhD from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam (NL), an MPA from Leiden/Rotterdam University (NL), and MBA from Bradford/Tilburg University (UK/NK) and a minor in small and micro credit schemes from Harvard University Boston (USA).

I worked seven years for the United Nations and the Dutch Ministry for Development Cooperation in Cambodia, Mongolia, Korea and Palestine. Now at MSM, I am managing projects and programs related to sustainable business development in a variety of countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Georgia and Jordan. Next to this I am lecturer in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The research I am currently working on…
I am engaged in two different research articles:

I am doing research on the eco-system of impact investment programs in Western Africa. More and more investors and donors are interested and willing to invest, but they want to make sure their investments have an impact, for example on jobs or the reduction of CO2 emissions. Although it is difficult to exactly define impact, there is an increased focus on impact investment, especially in emerging markets. This is often combined with grant financing, resulting in blended finance. My research focuses on the potential of impact investment programs in Western Africa.
I am testing three sustainable business models in the Cocoa sector in Indonesia with each other. We are researching which of the three models is more effective in terms of sustainability: the NGO-supported model, the Government supported model or the Business supported model.

The importance of my work as lead trainer in the Corporate Social Responsibility program...
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provides the missing link between public sector development and business. It still is difficult to define the role of business in society, but this is what it makes such an interesting field for research and education. MSM’s participants are coming from all spheres of society: Government, Business, NGO’s and Universities. This mixture of participants with cases from all corners of the world makes our CSR program so unique.

The aspect of my work at MSM that excites and inspires me the most is…
MSM is very international oriented. Students, staff and customers are coming from all corners of the world. This is exactly the kind of environment I prefer working in. This is also very valuable for my work in the field of sustainable business development as it enables me to look at it from different international perspectives.

The issue of development has always been centre-stage in my studies and in my career. In my previous job at the United Nations my work was focused on donor funded development programs. But if you really want development to work businesses are indispensable. That’s the reason why I was looking for an institution that offers a combination of these two worlds. MSM is the only business school in the world that so clearly focuses on management issues in both emerging markets and developed markets and both from a business point of view as from a development point of view. This is why my work at MSM provides the ideal mix. I believe that it is important to pursue your dreams. If you are persistent enough, dreams can come true. And nothing is nicer than doing work in the field you are passionate about.

The Scientific network that I am active in is..
I participate in the Global Impact Investment Network, in the B-Corps network and CSR Netherlands, the Centre of Excellence for Dutch companies that are striving towards corporate social responsibility.

My most recent publication are:

de Boer, D. and van Dijk, M.P (2016) Can Sustainable Tourism achieve conservations and local economic development? African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Vol. 5 (4) - (2016)

de Boer, D. and van Dijk (2016), Success Factors For Community Business Wildlife Tourism Partnerships in Tanzania, European Journal of Development Research (1-16);

de Boer, D. and Langat J (2014), Dairy clustering in Kenya. In Inside Africa's Agricultural, Food, and Nutrition Dynamics’ by Klaver and Akinyoade (Eds), Brill publishing, Leiden.

Drost, S., van Wijk, J. and de Boer, D. (2014), conflict-affected youth in agri-food chain, Conflict, Security & Development.

In my spare time you can often find me…
I like outdoor sports such as mountain biking and trail running. I also enjoy playing piano or the accordion. It relaxes me and provides for new energy levels for my work at MSM.

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