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VIML - International Business Research Group

Would you like to broaden your horizon? Interested in exploring business opportunities abroad? Or have you already been doing business abroad but you experience difficulties or problems? In those cases you will need thorough research; but how will you be able to achieve this?

Luckily, the Leiden University students from VIML International Business Research Group offer a solution. Leiden University is the only university in the Netherlands offering a broad scope of area-studies such as China, Japan and Middle Eastern – studies. And now, these qualified students, offer their professional expertise to your business.

Specific cultural knowledge and the necessary linguistic-skills are absolutely crucial in order to thoroughly understand the market you wish to expand to. Furthermore, having the right network of contacts is one of the most important steps in doing business abroad. Due to the broad scope of area-studies at Leiden University, it gives us the possibility to access a vast database of professional contacts in the countries that we offer our services to.

Increasing business opportunities


About

Up-and-coming economies such as China, India, Turkey and Taiwan are among the world’s most promising markets . Simultaneously, an established market like Japan also has a lot of (business) opportunities. All these countries offer political stability and a favorable investment climate, resulting in an overall rising demand by government, companies and consumers. Moreover, these markets are far from exhausted its potential due to the ever-rising spending power of the middle class. These prosperous economic developments guarantee a stable demand in the future as well. This is one of the (many) reasons why markets like China and

India are often perceived as the future leaders in the world economy.

With Western markets stagnating, the importance of doing business in these new up-and-coming economies increases rapidly. Yet, in 2011 the total Dutch export originating from countries like China (1.6%), India (0.5%), Japan (0.8%), Turkey (1.2%) and Taiwan (0.6%) was only 4.7%. The business opportunities in these countries however are too considerable to ignore. By doing

business (or improving existing relations) in these markets you can stay ahead of your competition and increase total revenues with impressive numbers.

Selling your products, services, concepts or technologies in these countries is a realistic prospect, as long as you can get the right information and know-how about their economies, cultures and future customers; information and know-how that we can get for you!

The sky is the limit

The business opportunities in these countries are too conside-rable to ignore


All participating students have

their own unique

qualifications

Coming from both the Bachelor and Master phase, the VIML Business Research students have an

academic background that varies from area-studies such as China, Japanese and Middle Eastern

studies as well as other disciplines such as Public Administration and Psychology. The students

are interested in more than just the business part of the research; the cultural and sociological

aspects are just as important. This is one of the (many) differentiating aspects of VIML

International Business Research Group, these students

look beyond the obvious.

Besides having his or her own specific qualifications, each

student has been trained in academic research skills as

well. Moreover, these students are fully dedicated to deliver

qualitative results to companies, beyond expectation.

By combining the students’ various academic

backgrounds, vast network of global contacts (originating

from the area-studies) and the classes provided by the

minor-program; these students are excellent candidates to help you in doing business abroad.

On top of that, these students are accompanied and supervised by three professors

who have lots of expertise in the field, both in market research and cultural differences.

About

VIML International Business Research Group

originates from the minor International and

Intercultural Management at Leiden University.

This minor is unique in bridging business

knowledge and understanding national

cultures around the globe. A carefully selected

group of students that follow this minor, conduct

research for companies under the supervision of

three renowned professors. Together, they are

VIML International Business Research Group.


The VIML International Business Research Group aims to conduct research in four weeks, approximately from mid-June to mid-July. During this period we will acquire and analyze all the information that is required in order to successfully fulfill the demands of the client.Our determination to stay at the country of choice for four weeks, means we can provide a thorough and efficient research. Our pre-existing network enables us to find the right persons quickly and collect information efficiently. This leaves us more time for the essential work, namely analyzing the obtained data. Through direct contact with all involved parties we can perform a more detailed research than private consultants; who only stay a couple of days in your country of choice. On top of that, we are willing to invest more time in the project, with higher flexibility and better results.

Our goal


Our group of students shall be accompanied and supervised by three professors, both in the Netherlands as during their stay abroad. These professors from Leiden University, who have made their marks in their respective field of research: Dr. G. Eisenloeffel, Drs. W.R. Fontijn and Prof. Dr. B. de Wit, has already led to several well received student researches in the past. Their experience, knowledge and supervision contribute to achieve the best end-results for you and your business or organization.

G. Eisenloeffel, PhDAs a professor at the Faculty of Business Administration at the Eras-mus University of Rotterdam, Gep Eisenloeffel was offered a presti-gious award by the university for his outstanding educational pro-grams concerning (among others) the international oil industry. He also taught at the MBA faculty at the Rotterdam School of Manage-ment and at the University of Amsterdam. Nowadays, he is professor at Leiden University and coordinator of the minor International and Intercultural Management . He is also co-founder of TrainingPlaza, a company that concentrates on educational management. His arti-cles have been published in magazines and newspapers like OPEC Energy Review, Intermediar, NRC Handelsblad and Internationale Spectator.

W. R. Fontijn, Drs.Ruud Fontijn studied marketing at Erasmus University of Rotterdam. He was commercial director of a large exporting corporation and has conducted business in the Middle East, Japan and the US. He has been a professor of marketing management for many years at several universities in the Netherlands; currently at Leiden Univer-sity. He has also given multiple in-company trainings and has taught at universities in the US, Italy, Poland, Russia and China. He directed market research assignments during research trips in several South-American countries and in Indonesia.

Supervision


The research that we conduct will generally consist of three phases.

1). Exploration.A team of students draft a research plan for you. Our in-depth research starts in the Netherlands where we will gather as much background information as possible to ensure that we are well prepared before we go to the country we are assigned for. Mutual communication, from beginning to end, is of the utmost importance to us; ensuring that the research will be in accordance with your specific needs.

2). Field researchDuring this phase we will conduct field research. The research plan that we have prepared in the Netherlands will then be executed. By means of digital briefings we will keep you up to date on the progress that has been made. The expected time frame for field research is from coming mid-June to mid-July.

3). Presentation of resultsDuring the final phase we will compose a detailed research report, and present and evaluate the

Research phases

Bob de Wit, Prof. Dr.Bob de Wit is Professor of Strategic Leadership at Nyenrode Business University and Open University. He is also director of Strategy Works and Strategy Academy in Rotterdam. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Journal of Change Management, a member of the Strategic Management Society Review Board, a member of the Academic Council of the Ecole Na-tionale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, and from 2003 until 2009 he has been the Chairman of the Vereniging voor Strategische Besluitvorming (VSB). He co-authored, together with Ron Meyer, Strategy - Process, Content, Context: An International Perspective of which the fourth edition (2010) has sold over 350.000 copies and has been adopted by more than 200 universities and business schools worldwide.


We offer

- Market research - Consumer research - Industrial research - Solving communication problems

To give you an idea of the elaborate possibilities VIML International Business Research Group offers, we refer to our website www.viml-researchgroup.nl . All assignments will be accompanied and supervised by our renowned professors.This combination of professional supervision and the students exceptional knowledge of intercultural business and cultures, can be of great advantage for any kind of research.

Assignments

· Enthusiastic students with various academic backgrounds.

· Professional guidance by experts.

· Students who possess the knowledge of language and culture of the countries we offer to do

business in, for a smoother collaboration with our international contacts.

· Thorough field research exceeding a simple phone-call or online search.

· Comprehension of the differences in culture within and between countries and among consumers.

· Essential knowledge of management and organizational studies with a fresh look towards the

future.

· Research based on your specific wishes, combined with great flexibility.

· Alumni who can assist you by building bridges between companies of a different culture and your

own, thus opening doors that would otherwise have remained closed.

· A non-profit team that only charges you for the cost of the trip, the stay and the communication.

You will get better results for a lower price.

There are many varieties of assignments we can do for you. We divide our research assignments into four categories:


Contact us

M.PeetersCEO of Peeters Produkten bv

Peeters Produkten is producing and marketing amongst others Duo Penotti in many

countries. In 2011 we made a first step into the Chinese market, being well aware of the fact

that we needed more information about the consumer behavior and consumption patterns

with regard to a product like ours. The offer of the VIML International Business Research

Group to provide us with this kind of information came at the right time. Together with

the Group we set up interviews, product tests and questionnaires. The students of the

team that had to execute this assignment managed to have over 700 product tests and

completed questionnaires and also had 30 interviews that gave us more general

information about consumption patterns. During the four weeks in which this task was

fulfilled in China the group stayed in close contact with us. After their return to the

Netherlands the Group presented and discussed its findings with our Management Board.

We were very satisfied with the way in which they performed and are implementing the

recommendations that we received.

Mrs. Linda BunschotenDirector of Marketing – Respiratory Diagnostics

On behalf of CareFusion’s Respiratory Diagnostics division we requested the VIML

International Business Research Group to conduct objective market research in China with

the aim to get a better understanding of a specific segment in the health care market.

Considering the rapidly changing “Chinese world” we anticipated that this would be a

challenging and complex assignment. However despite having local reports in the field we

preferred to have this market intelligence provided by an external party who could provide

us with unbiased observations and recommendations. An excellent match was formed with

a team of three VIML students. Following a two months preparation phase the dedicated

team was tasked to study, observe and survey various aspects of the Chinese health care

system. Supported by our local reports the VIML team visited and interviewed physicians,

paramedics and healthcare directors in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu whilst regularly

touching base with us. The field study was professionally concluded with a comprehensive

report and presentation to our board both in the English language. We were impressed with

the high level of effort and commitment to perform and complete the assignment. Besides

having an external party confirming our assumptions and expectations, the market research

brought us new valuable insights. VIML did a stellar job! We will undoubtedly consider

working with the VIML again in the future.

Testimonials

Bram van OlphenManaging director and owner of Central Oceans Group, which has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Jakarta and Rotterdam

This is my personal recommendation for the VIML International Business Research Group

team that has successfully developed a marketing plan for our company that is of great

contribution to our future strategy. Besides being an asset to our marketing efforts, the plan

also was also extraordinarily helpful in other areas of the company. I highly recommend the

Business Research Group and am sure its efforts will be as great an asset to your company

as it has been to ours.

With this brochure VIML International Business Research Group aimed to briefly inform you about the exciting opportunities and possibilities that we offer.

If you have any further questions, you can always contact us by e-mail. Please visit our website for additional up-to-date information.

[email protected]

VIML International Business Research GroupAddress:Doelensteeg 162311 VL LeidenThe Netherlands

Contact us

While developing this brochure, students of VIML International Business Research Group tried to respect all rightful copyright holders and did not (intentionally) infringe any copyrighted material. Brochure developed by Thomas Drissen and Thomas Zijtveld.

“VIML did a stellar job!”Director of Marketing – Respiratory Diagnostics

“VIML successfully develo-ped a marketing plan for our company that is of great contribution to our future strategy“

Managing director (and owner) – Central Oceans Group

While developing this brochure, students of VIML International Business Research Group tried to respect all rightful copyright holders and did not (intentionally) infringe any copyrighted material. Brochure developed by Thomas Drissen and Thomas Zijtveld.

© suzumenonamida, CC (cover photo)

VIML International Business Research Group

Address:Doelensteeg 162311 VL LeidenThe Netherlands

[email protected]: 53839285ABN-AMRO: 51.59.89.428

“We were very satisfied with the way in which VIML perfor-med and are implementing the recommendations that we received.”

CEO – Peeters Produkten BV

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