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.
584 Results
IfM-Materialien | 2014 The income situation of self-employed persons and the use of state benefits on the basis of SGB II
Based on the panel "Labor Market and Social Security", this study examines the income situation of self-employed persons. The focus is not only on the socio-economic characteristics of the self-employed in the basic provision of social security, but also on possible causes for the receipt of unemployment benefit II by the self-employed.
External publication | 2014 Entrepreneurial acting makes school - a didactically justified conceptional suggestion for a Entrepreneurship Education for the promotion of entrepreneurial thinking and acting
Entrepreneurial thinking and acting is currently a hotly debated topic in social and educational policy. Due to the weak representation of entrepreneurship in the German education system compared to other innovation-oriented countries, there is a particular need for curricularly applicable concepts to promote entrepreneurial thinking and acting in the school context.
Working Papers | 2014 The Economic Contribution of Start-Up Firms in Germany
This paper utilizes German tax data to present evidence about the direct and indirect effcts of new firm formation.
External publication | 2014 The largest family businesses - spring survey 2014
As part of the study series "The largest family-owned companies in Germany", the IfM Bonn conducted a survey of around 400 of the 4,500 largest family-owned companies in spring 2014 for the fifth time. This time, the focus of the survey is on the companies' investment and financing activities.
Working Papers | 2014 The gendering of entrepreneurship context
The paper builds on the understanding of context as suggested by Welter (2011) who introduced different dimensions of context along a continuum of where entrepreneurship takes place and when this happens.
External publication | 2014 Score with intangible incentives
Classic incentives are no longer sufficient to attract and retain employees in the long term. Intangible incentives that increase employee motivation are also becoming increasingly important.
IfM-Materialien | 2014 Concepts and effects of sustainable entrepreneurship
Corporate sustainability management aims at the responsible use of resources and the appropriate design of internal processes. Companies that combine sustainable management with strategic goals and go beyond the legal requirements and mere philanthropy use the instruments of stakeholder management and corporate compliance.
External publication | 2014 Medium-sized businesses in global competition
Foreign trade is of extraordinary importance for a developed economy like Germany. Growth and employment depend to a considerable extent on the foreign trade activities of companies in Germany.
IfM-Materialien | 2014 Gender, innovation and business development
Research has repeatedly found that women in general and female entrepreneurs in particular are less innovative than their male counterparts. This is often associated with a weaker business performance of female-managed companies.
External publication | 2014 From idea to publication: managing the research process
IfM-Materialien | 2014 Small and medium-sized enterprises in the information and communications industry in North Rhine-Westphalia
This study examines the ICT sector in North Rhine-Westphalia using special evaluations of official statistics from the VAT panel and data from a company survey. This state is proving to be a location with a largely prosperous ICT company base.
External publication | 2014 Bureaucratic costs for small and medium-sized enterprises
The smaller a company is, the more time is needed to fulfill bureaucratic tasks. From an economic point of view, however, it is important to create positive conditions for every size of company.
Facts and figures | 2013 Company successions in Germany 2014 to 2018
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.
IfM-Materialien | 2013 Degree of internationalization of SMEs. Results of a company survey
Between 2009 and 2011, around 1.3 million companies from Germany, 99% of which are SMEs, were internationally active. This means that about 37% of all companies had direct foreign contacts (when indirect forms of contact are taken into account: 44%).
Facts and figures | 2013 Foreign trade activities of small and medium-sized enterprises: Information possibilities of official statistics
Official statistics record the foreign trade activities of German companies incompletely, both in terms of the various forms of foreign involvement and their volumes.
IfM-Materialien | 2013 Prosperity effects of the founding process
The study analyzes the wealth effects of start-ups using data from the VAT panel. By means of a cohort analysis, the inventory of start-ups, turnover, intermediate consumption and value added as well as employment are examined.
External publication | 2013 BDI Mittelstandspanel: Results of the online survey of SMEs - Autumn 2013
As part of a long-term study on industrial SMEs in Germany, the IfM Bonn surveyed a fixed group of industrial companies for the 18th time in autumn 2013 on their assessment of the economic situation and on topics relevant to daily politics and business management.
Facts and figures | 2013 Foreign trade activities of small and medium-sized enterprises in the light of official statistics
International trade in goods and services is of great importance for German SMEs. Exports and imports have tended to increase over the last decade, as has the number of internationally active companies.
IfM-Materialien | 2013 Innovation activities of family businesses
Family businesses are just as innovative as non-family businesses. However, there are systematic differences with regard to the drivers of innovation: One such driver is the size of the company. It has been shown that smaller family businesses have relatively large innovation advantages.
External publication | 2013 The largest family businesses - 4th key figures update
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 2013.