Publications
IfM Bonn publishes its research findings primarily in its publication series: study results are published as "IfM-Materials" - or in condensed form as a "Denkpapier" (summary). Statistical analyses and results appear in the series "Daten und Fakten". Discussion and technical papers from all research areas are published as "Working Papers".
In addition, until 2012 selected articles were published in the series "Schriften zur Mittelstandsforschung" (Gabler Verlag). Under the "External Publications" tab, you find numerous essays by IfM researchers that have appeared in (peer-reviewed) specialist journals and external publication series.
552 Results
Facts and figures | 2018 Company successions in Germany 2018 to 2022
Due to a lack of official statistics, the IfM Bonn has been estimating the number of companies in Germany that are about to be handed over since the mid-1990s. The present estimate for the period 2018 to 2022 concludes that about 150,000 companies with about 2.4 million employees are about to be handed over.
IfM-Materialien | 2018 Reform of the Points of Single Contact (PSC) - suggestions from European good practice examples
The starting point of the study is Germany's lagging behind other EU countries in implementing the point of single contact. Based on guideline-based expert interviews, the study presents the more digitized EA systems in Austria and Denmark and derives recommendations for action for Germany.
IfM-Materialien | 2018 Innovation activities of non-researching medium-sized companies
This study is dedicated to non-researching, medium-sized innovators. These mostly small companies are primarily found in the service sector. The aim was to determine which alternative strategies non-researching innovators implement to generate innovations and to what extent they can replace R&D.
Working Papers | 2018 Times are a Changin'? The Emergence of New Firms and Rank Persistence
Young firms are known to grow at a faster rate than incumbents. With administrative firm data from Germany, we show that the higher growth rates indeed translate into upward mobility within the firm size distribution.firms, whi
Denkpapiere | 2018 Social entrepreneurship
In this paper we systematize the central characteristics of social entrepreneurship and make clear that the term is already conceptually classified.
External publication | 2017 The largest family-owned companies in Germany, key figures update 2017
As part of the study series "The largest family businesses in Germany", the IfM Bonn analyzed the balance sheet and P&L data of family businesses with annual sales of 50 million euros or more in the fall of 2017.
IfM-Materialien | 2017 Internationalization in the business-related service sector - forms, obstacles and support needs of German SMEs
Services are ascribed trade-restrictive characteristics such as a high need for explanation, low standardizability and interaction between provider and recipient. Similarly, the limited resources in SMEs suggest a low level of trade activity in the service sector.
Working Papers | 2017 Mind the Gap: Institutional and Individual Antecedents of Entrepreneurial Trajectories in the Academic Context
This study analyses institutional, job-related, and individual antecedents of entrepreneurial activities from a longitudinal perspective.
Policy Brief "Entrepreneurship in Focus" | 2017 Heterogeneity of SME financing in Europe
The middle class and its financing is a topic of high relevance. However, there is little empirical evidence on this topic at European level.
External publication | 2017 Data security and missing standards in medium-sized businesses
This book contribution examines the question of whether data and legal security as well as the lack of standards and norms represent significant challenges for the realization of Industry 4.0 for manufacturing companies in Germany.
IfM-Materialien | 2017 New approaches for SME policy - Impulses from international good practice examples
This study identifies innovative approaches to SME policy on the basis of four international examples of good practice.
External publication | 2017 SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Canada
The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the structure and performance of SME and entrepreneurship activity in Canada, the business environment and framework conditions for SMEs and entrepreneurship, the strategic framework and delivery arrangements for policy, national SME and entrepreneurship programmes and the local dimension of the policy.
External publication | 2017 Business Takeover or New Venture? (Why) Do Women Prefer New Ventures?
This paper analyzes the role of (nascent) entrepreneurs’ sex in choosing the mode of business entry. Using a unique data set and estimating logit regressions we show that nascent entrepreneurs’ sex indeed affects their intended and actually chosen mode of entry.
IfM-Materialien | 2017 Family businesses of migrants
In the present study, we examine the special features of immigrant-run family businesses, to which every tenth family business in Germany belongs. Although they are on average smaller and younger than non-migrant family businesses, migrant family businesses make a valuable contribution to the national economy.
Denkpapiere | 2017 Use of cloud computing in manufacturing industry
Increasing digital networking is fundamentally changing the value-added process in the manufacturing industry. The challenges are even greater for SMEs than for large companies, as they have comparatively less access to their own IT resources. Cloud computing is an important technology for organizing networking.
IfM-Materialien | 2017 Founding success of scientists at German universities
In this paper we analyze influences on the founding process and founding success of scientists. Only every sixth scientist who had a founding idea three years ago became entrepreneurially active.
External publication | 2017 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Growth of Women´s Entrepreneurship
In this monograph, a renowned group of international authors describes where and in what form gender plays a role in the ecosystem of entrepreneurship.
IfM-Materialien | 2017 Cooperation between established medium-sized companies and start-ups
This study uses expert interviews to examine the motives, forms, challenges and success factors of cooperation between established medium-sized companies and start-ups. While start-ups hope to gain access to a large network and industry-specific know-how through cooperation, SMEs are motivated by access to new technologies and highly qualified specialists.
External publication | 2017 The largest family businesses in Germany - Company Survey 2017
In the context of the study series "Die größten Familienunternehmen in Deutschland" the IfM Bonn has conducted a survey of about 312 of the more than 4,500 largest family businesses in spring 2017 for the eighth time.
IfM-Materialien | 2017 Innovation and growth as a challenge for medium-sized businesses - update of the entrepreneurial view 2017
In order to secure its competitiveness, medium-sized companies are focusing primarily on innovation and growth. This is the result of the company survey on the challenges facing medium-sized companies.