IfM Bonn News

Vinzenz Peters and Christine Schmelting took part as experts in the public discussion on "Maternity protection for the self-employed" organised by the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Saxon State Parliament at the end of May.

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Are the terms ‘Mittelstand’ and ‘family business’ synonymous? Above what number of employees do companies belong to the Mittelstand?

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How does demographic change affect succession planning? Can external successors or a management buy-out compensate for a lack of willingness to take over within the family business?

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Business closures are not equally distributed across regions: the highest closure rates for the years 2017 to 2019 are found in urban regions such as Berlin, at 13.2%.

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From the perspective of trade associations, academia and economic policymakers, the biggest challenge for the Mittelstand enterprises remains ensuring innovation and competitiveness. This is the key finding of a survey conducted by experts at the IfM Bonn between late February and late March 2026.

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Companies that are affected by a macroeconomic crisis are not only more innovative, their innovations also contribute significantly to the improvement of the company's economic situation.

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Approximately 15,000 industrial companies are already active in the security and defence sector, according to the latest survey by IfM Bonn: four out of ten companies are considering this for the future.

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Bureaucracy is fundamentally important. It ensures that highly complex economies can function effectively. It also provides businesses with legal certainty and planning security.

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In contrast to the past, it is no longer considered a taboo if family members have no interest in taking over the family business. The sale of the family business is instead regarded as an important business decision,” reported Prof. Dr Isabell Stamm.

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After both turnover and profits among small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany had shown a slight improvement towards the end of 2025, the economic situation in both Germany and the euro area deteriorated again in the first quarter of 2026.

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Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Welter talked about the challenges and opportunities facing Mittelstand enterprises at the German Metal Industry Association’s annual conference in Berlin in early May.

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Children of self-employed parents tend to be more open to becoming self-employed later in life than children of parents in salaried employment.

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"The Mittelstand is currently facing a wide range of challenges – from skill shortages and bureaucratic burdens to geopolitical change. But we also know that the Mittelstand businesses are highly adaptable and repeatedly develop innovative solutions. Necessary are appropriate framework conditions …

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Since the beginning of May, Dr Theo Bolin Simon is a visiting scholar at the IfM Bonn, amongst other institutions. Mainly, he leads the research division at the Global Ethic Institute in Tübingen on an interim basis and works at the University of Siegen in the Chair of Contextual Economics and …

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Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Welter takes 19th place in the current Research.com ranking of the TOP 100 researchers in the field of "Business and Management" in Germany.

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