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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.

547 Results

IfM-Materialien | 2023 Development trends in global value chains from the perspective of Mittelstand companies

The integration of German companies into global value chains also harbors the risk of adverse shocks from other economies being transmitted to Germany.

Chartbooks | 2023 How Hidden Champions in the manufacturing industry use artifical intelligence

Germany is home to the most Hidden Champions in the world. To maintain their market leadership, they have to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) applications and technologies into their business models.

IfM-Materialien | 2023 SME-friendly organisation of public procurement

The German government would like to amend public procurement without raising the access barriers for SME.

External publication | 2023 Analysing the bureaucratic burden in Germany – How can a noticeable reduc-tion in bureaucracy be achieved?

This study analyses the current bureaucratic burden on companies from a holistic, process-oriented (model) perspective – the so-called regulatory cycle. On the basis of a quantitative enterprise survey, an international comparison and a literature analysis, a phase-oriented, holistic action plan for a noticeable reduction of the bureaucratic burden is developed.

Policy Brief "Entrepreneurship in Focus" | 2023 How the Online Gig Economy Challenges the Education-Income Paradigm

It is a well-established finding in the social sciences that workers with higher educational qualifications have higher average incomes.

Chartbooks | 2023 Artificial Intelligence (AI) – spread, challenges and opportunities in the manufacturing industry

The question of how companies can use artificial intelligence (AI) for their purposes is becoming increasingly pressing.

Policy Brief "Entrepreneurship in Focus" | 2023 The planned mandatory old-age provision system for new self-employed – how many will it affect?

The German government plans to introduce a mandatory old-age provision scheme for newly self-employed, who are not yet subject to a compulsory old-age provision scheme. The analysis of the authors suggests that many newly self-employed would not be subject to mandatory pension provisions because of their low income.

IfM-Background-Paper | 2023 Climate risks from a company perspective

Against the backdrop of worsening climate change, companies are increasingly confronted with a range of risks such as extreme weather events.

External publication | 2023 Analysis of the income situation of founders based on the German taxpayer panel

The report is dedicated to the development of the earnings of start-up cohorts. Even if many of the surviving start-ups achieve increasing profits in the following periods, a large number of founders do not manage to generate income of more than € 5,400 a year even in the 5th year after the start-up.

External publication | 2023 Number and structure of start-ups based on the Taxpayer Panel

The Federal Government is planning to introduce an obligation to provide for old age for the self-employed who have not yet been covered by any old-age insurance system if they have been self-employed for 2 years and their income from self-employment is above the marginal income for dependent employment.

IfM-Materialien | 2023 Corporate financing of small and medium-sized enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study examines the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we observe an increase in the number of SMEs with financing problems. This is true for SMEs in Germany as well as in other euro area countries.

Policy Brief "Entrepreneurship in Focus" | 2023 Digitalization activities in the small enterprise sector: an urban-rural issue?

The concern that rural regions and their enterprises are at a disadvantage in the use of new digital technologies compared to urban areas due to a digital divide is a recurring theme in the political debate.

Chartbooks | 2023 How companies in NRW cope with climate change

Climate change is affecting North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) - one of Germany's largest and most densely populated federal states.

External publication | 2023 Health Economy in the Digital Transformation

The healthcare industry comprises a complex system of stakeholders with different interests and needs. For the successful digital transformation of the healthcare industry, it is therefore essential to establish appropriate governance structures that take this complexity into account.

External publication | 2023 Does innovation shape the employment growth distribution? Evidence from East European firms

Employment growth is one of the most crucial indicators for economic policy. As the literature shows that only few fast-growing firms create the most new jobs, we apply recentered influence function regression to examine whether and how innovation activities shape the employment growth distribution.

External publication | 2023 The stagnating productivity of SMEs endangers Germany's prosperity

Small and medium-sized companies are increasingly lagging behind large companies in terms of their labor productivity - the "backbone" of the German economy is in danger of falling behind.

Chartbooks | 2023 Mittelstands Future Panel: The Future Panel 2023: Increased competitive pressure challenges companies

For the third consecutive time, both medium-sized and non-owner-managed companies cited the shortage of skilled workers as their biggest challenge. The current survey also shows that the dominance of "competitive pressure" as a challenge.

External publication | 2023 The interplay of context and entrepreneurship: the new frontier for contextualisation research

The aim of this Special Issue ties in with increasing calls in the entrepreneurship literature for going beyond agent centric views towards accounts that theorise the interconnections between agency and structure.

External publication | 2023 A highly innovative SME sector needs reliable framework conditions

What general conditions are currently needed to strengthen innovation and investment in the Mittelstand?

IfM-Materialien | 2023 Influence of administrative burdens on the cross-border posting of employees by SMEs in border regions

Based on interviews with companies and experts, the study examines the extent to which administrative requirements hinder or prevent the cross-border provision of services by German and Dutch SMEs in selected border regions.