Business Studies

Learning Chairs

In the Department of Business Sciences, three chairs are established. Together, the chair holders lead the Turnaround, Rescue & Insolvency Leiden Research Team (TRI Leiden), which consists of legal and business science researchers from Leiden Law School. TRI Leiden aims, through an international and multidisciplinary perspective, for efficiency and effectiveness in insolvency procedures, as well as market trust in these procedures and the involved actors.

Chair of Business Studies

The chair of 'Business Studies' focuses on issues at the level of producers, retail, and consumers, with a particular emphasis on pricing.

With the growth of the internet, big data, and high-tech marketing, personalized pricing has become a reality. Understanding its implications for consumers is a highly complex issue, as is determining what the legal implications should be. Wat if price manipulation becomes so advanced that it is challenging to determine whether there is price deception? The research of this chair aims to provide insights into how companies can achieve their objectives without depriving consumers of a fair market.

For more information, read the inaugural lecture of chairholder Jean-Pierre van der Rest, titled ‘Het belang van prijs: Bedrijfswetenschappelijke ontwikkelingen en implicaties voor het recht’.

Chair of Turnaround Management

The chair of 'Turnaround Management' focuses on research into bankruptcy and reorganization. What makes the formulated objective unique is the emphasis on the early recognition of symptoms and causes of business decline, as well as the success and failure factors of turnaround strategies.

As a scientific field, Turnaround Management seeks answers to questions like how to prevent companies from encountering problems, what practical measures are taken for restructuring, and what challenges arise in the process. It also deals with issues related to the efficiency of bankruptcy legislation and suspension of payments. It is a distinctly interdisciplinary and internationally oriented field where topics such as strategic entrepreneurship, bankruptcy law, marketing, mediation, and financing come together.

Chair of Insolvency Law

The chair of 'Insolvency Law' also focuses on research into reorganization, but from a legal perspective. Insolvency law covers the legal aspects related to procedural frameworks for individuals and legal entities in financial difficulties, as well as the substantive assessment of the legal position of the debtor and their creditors.

The role of the Insolvency Law chair within the Department of Business Sciences is to establish connections between the strictly legal components (such as directors' and shareholders' liability) and business aspects (such as mismanagement). Chairholder Reinout Vriesendorp is affiliated with both the Department of Business Sciences and the Department of Business Law.

The research is practice-oriented without avoiding fundamental and existential questions in this field: What are the purpose and function of insolvency procedures? Why are trustees and administrators necessary in this context? Why should a director be liable for a deficit? Does director liability lead to improved or worsened behaviour? Is it efficient to have the curator paid from the estate, or is an alternative financing setup desirable?