RSM Honorary Doctorates

2012: Professor Alice H. Eagly

On the occasion of the 99th Dies Natalis of our university, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) has awarded an honorary doctorate to Professor Alice H. Eagly for her outstanding contributions to the study of gender and leadership. 

The leading psychologist was honoured for her trailblazing work in the field of gender and leadership. Prof. Eagly dismisses the frequently-mentioned “glass ceiling” as the factor which holds women back. Instead, she uses the metaphor of a labyrinth in which women encounter many obstacles at all hierarchical levels.

Professor Eagly has developed a well-grounded and well-supported theory to capture the gendered nature of leadership. She has systematically documented the evidence for gender differences in leadership in a series of quantitative meta-analyses. These analyses demonstrate that the challenges faced by women seeking leadership positions is not simply captured by the metaphor of the so-called glass ceiling that would only apply at higher hierarchical levels. Rather, these challenges are better captured by the analogy of a labyrinth – challenges that are encountered right from entry into the system and not just after having risen through the ranks as the glass ceiling suggests. The importance of these insights lie in the implications they convey for managing and changing these leadership challenges.

Professor Alice Eagly is James Padilla Chair of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Psychology, Faculty Fellow of Institute for Policy Research, and Professor of Management & Organizations, all at Northwestern University, USA.

2008: Professor Hau Lee 

In recognition of the enormous achievements made in the areas of global supply chains and supply chain management, the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, has, on the occasion of its 95th Dies Natalis – the anniversary of the founding of Erasmus University – and the 38th anniversary of RSM, awarded an honorary doctorate to Professor Hau Lee.

A world leader in supply chain management, Professor Lee has been instrumental to the development of many innovations and initiatives in his specialist fields. He has been published widely, is one of the most cited scientists in these areas and is one of the top 50 most cited authors in the areas of business and economic sciences.

In 2004, his 1997 co-authored paper “Information Distortion in a Supply Chain: The Bullwhip Effect”, was voted as one of the ten most influential articles published in the history of the journal Management Science. Further, his research will be used in the European Commission’s FP7-funded INTEGRITY project, which will investigate and seek to improve the transparency in global supply chains between the Far East and Europe, and in which Erasmus University is the lead research partner.

2005: PROFESSOR RICHARD THALER

Richard H. Thaler was conferred with an honorary doctorate in 2005 by RSM Erasmus University in recognition of his work in the field of behavioural economics. Behavioural economists study the effects of social, cognitive, and emotional factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions and their consequences for market prices, returns, and resource allocation.

Professor Thaler is the Robert P. Gwinn Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, Finance and Behavioural Science at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business where he is director of the Center for Decision Research. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research where he co-directs the behavioural economics project. His research is on the interface of psychology and economics. He is considered a pioneer in the fields of behavioural economics and finance, and has specialised in the study of saving and investing decision-making. He is the author of numerous articles and the books The Winner's Curse, and Quasi Rational Economics and was the editor of the collection: Advances in Behavioural Finance.

Over the past thirty years, Professor Thaler has bridged economics, finance and psychology, and as a result, truly innovated the study of economics and finance by establishing the field of behavioural economics and finance. His contribution throughout this period of time has been truly enormous.

1998: Professor Peter Checkland

Professor Checkland was conferred with an honorary doctorate in 1998 by the Faculteit Bedrijfskunde in recognition of his work in management science, specifically his development of Soft Systems Thinking and the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). Soft Systems Thinking and SSM addressed the shortcomings of traditional management science by defining a continuous learning cycle and by understanding that purposeful human activity can be modelled systemically.

Research on SSM, its use, evolution and practical value is reflected in the number of derived methodologies and hundreds of articles and reports published in numerous journals by Checkland and many other prominent researchers. So widespread has been the acceptance and uptake of his research and methodologies that ‘Systems Engineering’ subsequently evolved into a branch of management science.

After having worked for ICI as a manager for a number of years, Checkland joined Lancaster University in the UK. It is here that he developed his research. Checkland is still with Lancaster University and now serves as Professor of Systems (Emeritus).

1993: Professor Michael E. Porter 

Often cited as being the father of modern strategy, Professor Porter is seen as one of the world’s most influential thinkers in the areas of management and competitiveness. Author of many important books and papers, it was his groundbreaking work in his 1990 published The Competitive Advantage of Nations, that attracted attention. The book offered new theories on how nations compete, and introduced the concept of economic clusters. The impact of his research in these areas has been such that it has guided the economic policy of many nations. In the same way, Porter’s work on clusters spawned a new body of research that has profoundly influenced global thinking and perceptions of competitiveness.

In 1993, as acknowledgement of his work an honorary doctorate was conferred by the Faculteit Bedrijfskunde.

Since then, Porter has continued to reshape the world’s thinking on matters of strategy, competition and innovation, and his ideas are at the very heart of teaching in business schools everywhere. He is currently the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School.

1988: Professor Anton C.R. DreesmanN 

Considered something of an entrepreneurial legend in his native Netherlands, he was the grandson of Anton Dreesmann, who, with his brother-in-law and partner Willem Vroom, founded the department store chain that still bears their names (V&D). The young Dreesmann studied law and economics at the University of Amsterdam where he graduate cum laude with a paper exploring pricing and politics in the retail trade. He eventually followed his grandfather and father into the family business and was director of the Hague branch of V&D until 1954 when the sudden death of his older brother Willem placed him in a position of greater responsibility.

Dreesmann began a policy of expansion that would see the growth of parent company Vendex International (now Maxeda) into an international business empire that included supermarkets in the USA and a bank in Brazil. Beyond the doors of his workplace, he was a senior member of the Sociaal-Economische Raad (Social and Economic Council) and chairman of two important Dutch trade associations, the Vereniging van Grootwinkelbedrijven and Vereniging voor Distributie Economie.