IfM Bonn News

IfM Publications | 30.01.2024 Business angels as a financing option for company succession

Business angels not only support the financing of start-ups but also company acquisitions by private individuals. In their policy brief, Prof Dr Alexander Pöschl and Isabella Mai (both Saarland University of Applied Sciences/Saarbrücken) outline the potential of this form for succession financing.

Participation in external events | 30.01.2024 How politics can overcome the gender gap in entrepreneurship

What could economic policy do to reduce the gender gap in entrepreneurship? Dr Armgard Wippler, Solène Le Coz-Fortis, Irish entrepreneur Sinead Lonergan, Dr Teita Bijedić-Krumm, Marie Eloy and Maura McAdam discussed this question at an online OECD event at the end of January.

Participation in external events | 25.01.2024 Research discussion on globalisation and climate risks

How are medium-sized industrial companies affected by the current geopolitical crises? How does this affect their foreign activities? Dr André Pahnke gave answers to these questions in his lecture "Development trends in global value chains from the perspective of Mittelstand companies" as part of …

External publications | 19.01.2024 Competitive market structures in equity crowdfunding

Digital financial platforms that crowdfund equity for entrepreneurs have emerged globally. Nevertheless, the question still remains as to how scalable the business models of these platforms are and how much competition the market allows compared to other digital markets.

Participation in external events | 18.01.2024 The gender gap in Entrepreneurship

Women are still underrepresented among the self-employed in Germany as well as in other European countries.

Participation in external events | 15.01.2024 Bureaucracy discussed in the state parliament committee

Dr Annette Icks answered questions posed by the parliamentary groups on the topic of "bureaucracy" at a meeting of the Committee on Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy in the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament in mid-January.

IfM Publications | 08.01.2024 Why minors start a business

According to studies by Dr Teita Bijedić-Krumm, Olga Suprinovič, Dr Stefan Schneck and Dr Jonas Löher, start-ups are mainly founded by young men aged 15 and 17 who perform better than average at school.

Press release | 03.01.2024 EU internal market as a crisis anchor

The industrial Mittelstand companies follow the current geopolitical crises and conflicts with great concern and take first precautions: Indeed, China generally remains important to companies as a procurement market since the country holds a monopoly-like position for some raw materials.

External publications | 14.12.2023 Research diversity on family entrepreneurship

Family entrepreneurship can be analysed from various research perspectives. The article "A multi-voiced account of family entrepreneurship research: expanding the agenda of family entrepreneurship" tries to reflect this diversity.

Awards | 13.12.2023 Friederike Welter appointed university councillor

Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Friederike Welter was appointed to the University Council of the University of Siegen on 11 December. Besides the IfM President and professor at the University of Siegen, the Council comprises 6 external and 3 internal members.

Participation in external events | 12.12.2023 Recruiting skilled labour in times of digital transformation

Which opportunities does digitalisation offer for recruiting skilled workers? What challenges do SMEs face in this context?

Press release | 11.12.2023 Only a few Hidden Champions use artificial intelligence (AI) so far

Although Hidden Champions use artificial intelligence (AI) applications and processes more frequently (18.8%) than other companies in the manufacturing sector (8.9%), they do not yet appear to be exploiting the potential of AI. This is the result of a survey conducted by IfM Bonn among companies in …

Participation in external events | 05.12.2023 Why SMEs are also increasingly required to report

Dr Jonas Löher explained at the regional conference of SME consultants in Essen at the end of November how sustainability reporting obligations affect the day-to-day operations of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Participation in external events | 01.12.2023 Europe-wide harmonisation of national posting rules

Michael Holz presented the results of the study "Influence of administrative burdens on the cross-border posting of employees by SMEs in border regions" at the European Committee of HANDWERK Baden-Württemberg meeting at the end of November.

Press release | 30.11.2023 Small and medium-sized enterprises are disadvantaged when participating in public tenders

"In principle, it is to be welcomed that the German government wants to amend public procurement to make it more efficient and sustainable. However, the consequences for small and medium-sized enterprises should also be considered," explains Dr Nadine Schlömer-Laufen, project leader at the Institut …