Wendy van der Valk

Linocut portrait by Ivo van Leeuwen

Part of the portrait series Women in Academia

Academic Portrait

As an Endowed Professor of Purchasing & Supply Chain Management at Tilburg University, my remit includes stimulating research and teaching in the field of purchasing and supply management, especially in relation to contemporary transitions in business and society, such as digital transformation and circularity. Ever since the start of my academic career, I have been interested in how to effectively organize business-to-business relationships so that public and private buying organizations can get value for the money they spend, enabling supplying organizations to perform well and obtain a fair return. I focus hereby on the role of contractual and relational governance mechanisms for purchases that are highly important for the buying organization, i.e., suppliers that make an important contribution to the buying organization’s business performance.

I am passionate about conducting relevant research in a rigorous way, and enjoy collaborating and co-creating with relevant stakeholders to achieve impact. Bringing the latest research insights to the classroom stimulates interest among students, who in turn then challenge me regarding the questions I think I answered and the questions I did not ask. As such, I find the combination of teaching and research highly helpful and stimulating.