At the end of the 1960s, when Joop Stam was a student at Keio Kokusai Center in Tokyo, people used to say: "That young man from Holland will go a long way. He typifies the modern young scholar, who is eager and able to take advantage of today's opportunities."

Those people these years later might remark, "Well, what did we say?" Joop is now Dr. J.A. Stam, professor of economics and management of Pacific Asia at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, and the University of Twente. He is engaged in international comparative research of organization and management. His many research projects have covered industrial innovation in Japan, the technology transfer of Japanese industry to ASEAN, Japan's direct foreign investment in Europe, and the changing role of medium- and small-size enterprises. Still a student whilst instructing others, currently he is working on the management of technology in postrecession Japan.

He is the son of a farmer from northern Holland. The only one of seven brothers and sisters to have had, during school days, an interest in the Far East, he decided to specialize in Japan. He studied at the University of Leiden, famed center of learning since the late 16th century, developing there his interest in modern Japan in the sphere of economics. He made a special study into the crucial matter of human resource management in Japanese enterprises. Valuing comparisons, he looked for pointers to future changes. After getting his first degree, he applied for a scholarship to Japan.

At Keio he met Michiyo, a doctor's daughter from Hawaii. When Joop returned to complete his master's degree at Leiden, Michiyo went too. They married in Leiden in 1971.

Three years later, the young couple moved from Leiden to the old town of Gouda, known for its production of clay pipes, candles and cheese. In Gouda they bought an old canal house that was in such disrepair as to be uninhabitable. Whilst fulfilling his duties as lecturer in economics as Erasmus University, Joop with Michiyo's help set out to restore the house. For two years they camped uncomfortably in a garden outhouse.

Joop practiced again the practical skills he had used on the farm in his boyhood. He brought out the tools and bought the materials that equipped him to be carpenter, electrician and painter. Michiyo learned all she could of 17th century Dutch architecture and decor. Having been an authority on Japanese weaving, she made herself an authority on Dutch houses, materials and furnishings of the past. While they were still camping in their outhouse, they became the parents of their daughter, Maile. The three came on a Japan Foundation Fellowship to Japan in 1976. Four years later their son, Trevor, was born. Maile is now a doctor, multilingual and musical. Trevor, still at university, intends to specialize in Latin America.

The house in Gouda is now a structure of space, character and charm. The old-style, central spiral staircase serves four floors of rooms and odd-level galleries. From the attic floor of high, open rafters and slanted, thatched ceilings, in one direction can be seen the sails of a windmill, and in the other the spire of the old church near Gouda town square. Blending into this setting of old Holland are many treasures taken back from Japan.

Joop makes things possible. He is learned, appreciative of the arts, and is a family man. He holds his Ph.D. in economics from Erasmus University. He is director of the Rotterdam Institute of Modern Asian Studies, and a former chairman of the Euro-Asia Management Studies Association. He is a board member of several international scientific associations and advisory bodies of Japan and East Asia.

"I have been coming and going almost annually for more than 30 years, always having enriching experiences," Joop said. "I update and upgrade myself with something interesting each time." He is in charge of a number of university exchange formulas that go beyond his own original Keio University tieup. "I spread my attention to China and Korea too, to see how these countries can be compared to each other, to see where their programs stop and where they go. If you have an inquisitive spirit, there is so much to discover here in Asia. There is never a dull moment."