IfM Bonn News

How do companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector see the current bureaucratic burden? How do they respond to it? Answers to these questions can be found in the latest IfM video.

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"Small and medium-sized enterprises remain the backbone of North Rhine-Westphalia's economy", reported Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Welter in her keynote speech at the North Rhine-Westphalia SME Advisory Council in early November.

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Does the self-perception of sons' entrepreneurial skills suffer when parents do things for their children that they could do themselves? According to research by Dr. Stefan Schneck, this is the case.

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The IfM is the academic research centre for the Mittelstand. It arose from a letter exchange between Ludwig Erhard and Konrad Adenauer. These roots show that SMEs are more than just an economic factor.

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The geopolitical situation and increasingly fragile trade relations are currently posing particular challenges for export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, the expanding defence sector also offers opportunities for companies that are prepared to change their business …

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The Silicon Valley business district was for a long time considered as a model economic region. Many governments have tried to copy it.

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Entrepreneurship exists in many different forms. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Welter therefore believes that entrepreneurship researchers should broaden their horizons and look beyond conventional standard models.

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In the opinion of Professor Friederike Welter, the European Commission's funding initiatives should not only target fast-growing companies but should also focus on innovative medium-sized companies in general.

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What developments are currently being observed in below-threshold procurement law? Dr Sebastian Schneider discussed this question in mid-September at the Forum Vergabe Gespräche 2025 in Fulda together with representatives from politics, science and industry.

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Although the number of corporate insolvencies filed rose to 12,000 in the first half of 2025, the increase was less significant than compared to the first six months of 2024 and 2023.

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Pregnancy and early motherhood have a significant impact on women's self-employment, according to research by the IfM Bonn.

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The bureaucratic burden on companies is usually measured based on the time and money spent on complying with regulatory requirements.

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Parents doing things for their children that they could do themselves harm their sons' self-perception of their entrepreneurial competencies. Especially self-employed fathers interfere in their son’s affairs and harm the development of their son’s entrepreneurial skills.

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How are Mittelstand enterprises already using artificial intelligence (AI) to cover their skilled labour needs?

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Despite numerous geopolitical challenges, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generated €2.8 trillion in 2023, according to the most recent data available. This was 28% of Germany’s total turnover.

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