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IfM Bonn News

Participation in external eventsFacts and myths about succession

According to estimates by IfM Bonn, around 38,000 businesses are currently handed over every year because the owners retire from management due to age, illness or death. However, more businesses are planning succession.

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News & UpdatesWhy do Startups use Equity Crowdfunding

Many founders of innovative start-ups use equity crowdfunding to finance their business.

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News & UpdatesExistential threat of skills shortage

Almost half of the companies in the Mittelstand are facing the challenge of a shortage of skilled workers.

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News & UpdatesMore trust in entrepreneurship

Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Friederike Welter believes that, in view of the ecological transformation, politicians should have more confidence in entrepreneurial initiatives ...

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News & UpdatesReducing bureaucracy

"How can democracy escape the bureaucratic trap? – The administration as the engine room". Dr Annette Icks, Fabian Müller, Prof. Dr. Steffen Eckhard and Daniel Karais discussed this question at the beginning of November in Friedrichshafen.

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YouTubeIfM video "How to reduce bureaucracy"

Entrepreneurs are increasingly no longer able to implement all existing bureaucratic requirements on the part of the state – but also from self-regulatory organisations in the economy, standardisation institutes or within value chains.

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Participation in external eventsWays out of the bureaucratic burden

Excessive regulation, a lack of realism and insufficient practical suitability are the main reasons why entrepreneurs perceive bureaucracy as an extreme burden.

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Guests at the IfMWhen entrepreneurial passion inspires

Entrepreneurs who show great passion for their company when talking to potential new employees attract proactive applicants.

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External publicationsPerspectives instead of myths

Professor Friederike Welter explained in her keynote speech at the University of Siegen's annual event in mid-October why entrepreneurship needs fresh perspectives rather than old myths, using the example of Silicon Valley entrepreneurship.

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Participation in external eventsPublic procurement in focus

Sebastian Schneider presented the problems faced by the Mittelstand companies when applying for public contracts at a workshop organised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWiK) in mid-October.

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Press releaseThe Enterprises who use artificial intelligence benefit from it

What opportunities does artificial intelligence (AI) offer for the Mittelstand? What framework conditions favor its application in companies? These questions were discussed today in Berlin by international entrepreneurship researchers together with representatives from SME policy and economy.

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Participation in external eventsMittelstand and Deindustrialisation

Research conducted by the IfM in Bonn has shown that only a small number of the Mittelstand managers are actually seeking to relocate production sites abroad. Nevertheless, there is a tendency towards setting up additional production facilities in foreign countries.

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Participation in external eventsIndustrial regions in the face of Digital Transformation

What kind of development potential do rural industrialised regions have? How do demographic change, digitalisation and decarbonisation affect these areas?

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Participation in external eventsLocal factors for the Mittelstand in Cologne

Which are the location factors that favour the Mittelstand entrepreneurship? At the beginning of October, Peter Kranzusch presented an answer to this question from an academic point of view, using Cologne as an example.

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AwardsBest Paper Award Nomination

The paper "Family Business Succession caught between transgenerational Continuation and firm Performance" by Dr André Pahnke, Dr Rosemarie Kay and Dr Susanne Schlepphorst has been nominated for the Best Paper Award at the 19th EIASM Workshop on Family Firm Management Research in Barcelona/Spain at …

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