IfM Bonn News

IfM Publications | 02.10.2023 How useful is the mandatory provision for founders?

The federal government plans to introduce a mandatory old-age provision for new self-employed people not yet insured in existing old-age provision systems. But how many founders would benefit from this mandatory requirement?

Das Bild zeigt einen Schreiner bei der Arbeit

Participation in external events | 26.09.2023 Things that make entrepreneurs resilient

Many entrepreneurs currently feel challenged by the actual situation. Dr Siegrun Brink pointed out what is significant for resilient entrepreneurs in her presentation at the XXII. Conference for Applied Social Sciences in mid-September.

Finger drückt auf Computertastatur auf die Taste "Mittelstand"

Participation in external events | 25.09.2023 Research-based recommendations for policy at the Bund-Länder Committee on Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Despite an increase in the number of self-employed women, the gender gap among the self-employed has hardly narrowed. At the Federal-Länder Committee on Small and Medium-Sized Business in Hamburg, Dr Rosemarie Kay presented reasons for the persistent underrepresentation of women.

Unternehmen mit Schornsteinen vor blauem Himmel

Press release | 20.09.2023 Companies in Germany are adapting to the consequences of extreme weather events

In the last 5 years, many entrepreneurs have experienced the consequences of climate change: extreme weather events have already impacted their entrepreneurial business activities. Companies from agriculture, energy and water supply, and the hospitality industry were particularly affected.

External publications | 14.09.2023 How many founders would fall under the planned pension obligation?

How many founders achieve profit income above the marginal income threshold after 2 years, so that they fall under the planned pension obligation for the self-employed? How high are their incomes? Dr Stefan Schneck and Peter Kranzusch examine these questions in their current publication for the …

Participation in external events | 12.09.2023 Smaller companies in particular hope for EU-wide harmonisation of posting rules

Many entrepreneurs, especially in border regions, would like to see EU-wide harmonisation of national posting rules and procedures. In principle, however, they recognise their necessity, as they prevent social dumping, poor working conditions and unfair competition.

Press release | 08.09.2023 Start-up figures remain constant despite economic challenges in the first half of 2023

46,400 companies with a main branch were founded in the first half of 2023. This includes start-ups with an entry in the commercial or craft register – or with one or more employees. These numbers remained largely constant in comparison to the first half of 2022.

Participation in external events | 31.08.2023 What the sustainability reporting requirements mean for the Mittelstand

What do SMEs have to expect from the new reporting and disclosure requirements? Which stakeholders need sustainability data in the future? These questions were among those addressed at the C02nference of the Effizienz Agentur NRW in Dusseldorf at the end of August.

Press release | 30.08.2023 Negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on SME financing were successfully absorbed

According to research by IfM Bonn, economic development in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) initially had a significant impact on access to external capital during the COVID-19 pandemic: In the initial phase of the crisis, access to finance became abruptly more difficult for some of the …

Participation in external events | 28.08.2023 IfM research results at RENT

The paper "The Motivational Background of Teenpreneurs: The Case of Germany" by Dr Jonas Löher, Dr Teita Bijedić and Olga Suprinovič has been accepted for this year's conference "Research in Entrepreneurship and Small Business" (RENT).

External publications | 23.08.2023 More jobs in the wake of innovation?

Employment growth is one of the most crucial indicators for economic policy. Using firm data from Eastern European countries, Dr. Stefan Schneck, Dr. Sebastian Nielen and Dr. Christian Dienes show in their article "Does Innovation Shape the Employment Growth Distribution? Evidence from East European …

Podcasts | 15.08.2023 How SMEs are perceiving climate change - responding to it

More than three-quarters of small and medium-sized enterprises expect climate change's consequences, such as extreme weather events and the transformation to a more sustainable economy, will impact their business activities. The scope for concrete action depends on the extent to which they have been …

IfM Publications | 15.08.2023 Urban and rural digitisation differences?

In the political discussion, there is always the worry that rural areas and the companies located there are disadvantaged compared to urban regions in using new digital technologies.

Press release | 09.08.2023 Digitalisation momentum slows down

More than one in three small and medium-sized enterprises (37%) in Germany rate their level of digitalisation as "very high" or "high". The share is higher than in the EU, where only 31% state such levels. In contrast, large companies in Germany are at a similar level of digitalisation compared to …

Press release | 08.08.2023 Every 2nd enterprise in North Rhine-Westphalia has experienced impacts of climate change within the past 5 years

Enterprises in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) have experienced climate change impacts considerably more often within the past five years than enterprises in the other federal states. According to a survey of the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn, extreme weather, heat or flood and low …