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 | 2013 The sustainable employment contribution of SMEs - A sectoral analysis with special emphasis on R&D and knowledge-intensive industries
The SME hypothesis states that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make a relatively higher contribution to the creation of new jobs subject to social insurance contributions than large companies in relation to existing employment.
Facts and figures | 2013 Foreign sales of freelance industries using the example of architects - a comparison of different data sources
The statistics relating to the foreign activities of German companies do not permit the clear identification of liberal professions. Complete data for all foreign activities, company sizes or legal forms are not available in any statistics.
IfM-Materialien | 2013 The employment contribution of medium-sized export companies
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an anchor of stability for employment in times of crisis. This is the conclusion reached by the scientists of the Bonn Institute for SME Research (IfM Bonn): Between 2001 and 2009, the number of employees in all SMEs grew by 13.6 % - and even in the crisis years 2008/09 by 2.9 %.
External publication | 2013 EU Enlargement Effects on Cross-border Informal Entrepreneurial Activities
Border regions have different forms of entrepreneurial activities and offer many examples of informal entrepreneurial activities that have developed and persist due to their respective border location
External publication | 2013 The largest family businesses - 3rd key figures update, winter 2012/2013
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 winter 2012/2013.
External publication | 2013 My Wage is Unfair! Just a Feeling or Comparison with Peers?
The article analyzes the connection between wage comparisons and the subjectively perceived fairness of wages. Based on the results of a large German household survey, it can be concluded that people who perceive their wages as unfair in the majority of cases also earn less than comparable persons with fair wages.
External publication | 2013 On the reform of the insolvency law in the area of residual debt discharge according to the government draft
In 1999, some 2.8 million households in Germany were considered over-indebted. Over-indebted persons, both consumers and the self-employed, can settle their old debts through out-of-court settlements, but also by legal means.
External publication | 2013 Medium-sized industrial companies assess economic policy conditions much better
The most important results of the twelfth survey wave of the BDI SME panel show that the economic activities of industrial SMEs have recovered with gratifying dynamism in autumn 2010.
IfM-Materialien | 2012 Public funding of company takeovers - necessity and design
This study investigated the question of what public support services are offered for successions in Germany and the extent to which state support is necessary.
IfM-Materialien | 2012 Analysis of the German immigration system with regard to the demand for skilled workers in medium-sized companies
Among other things, policymakers in Germany are relying on the immigration of highly qualified persons from third countries to fill gaps in skilled labor.
External publication | 2012 BDI Medium-sized Businesses Panel - Fall 2012
As part of a long-term study on industrial SMEs in Germany, the IfM Bonn surveyed a fixed group of industrial companies for the 16th time in autumn 2012 on their assessment of the economic situation and on topics relevant to daily politics and business management.
Schriften zur Mittelstandsforschung | 2012 Material employee participation - an option for medium-sized companies?
A number of positive effects are ascribed to material employee participation, i.e. both capital and profit sharing by employees.
External publication | 2012 The largest family businesses - Autumn 2012
As part of the study series "The largest family-owned companies in Germany", the IfM Bonn asked the opinion of the largest family-owned companies on the economic situation and current topics for the third time in autumn 2012.
External publication | 2012 Revisiting Procedural Utility: Evidence from European Survey Data
It is generally recognized that self-employed people are more satisfied in their job than employees. In the scientific literature this is regularly explained by the independence and autonomy of a self-employed person.
External publication | 2012 Nonlinear Effects of Comparison Income in Quit Decisions: Status versus Signal!
In the context of employee mobility, the question arises to what extent an employee's decision to terminate an employment contract depends on his relative wage position in the company. Previous studies on this problem have mainly investigated linear effects.
External publication | 2012 Relative Wage Positions and Quit Behavior: New Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data
In connection with the decision of employees to quit their previous job, the question arises whether the decision to quit depends more on status or future career prospects.
IfM-Materialien | 2012 Internationalization paths of medium-sized companies in Eastern Europe - internationalization process and location effects using the example of Lower Saxony's SMEs
For Western European companies in general and for Western European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular, the political and economic opening of the markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) at the beginning of the 1990s provided an important reason to intensify their activities in the Greater CEE region.
Facts and figures | 2012 The importance of small and medium-sized enterprises in energy-intensive industries
The IfM Bonn has examined the development of energy costs in industry for the years 2008 to 2010 and the importance of small and medium-sized energy-intensive industrial companies in 2010.
Facts and figures | 2012 Key figures for medium-sized companies in Eastern European EU countries
In the course of the EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007 ten Central and Eastern European countries joined the European Union (EU-10). The geographical proximity as well as the intensive trade relations with Germany gave the IfM Bonn the opportunity to determine size class-specific company key figures for the Eastern European EU countries for the first time.
IfM-Materialien | 2012 Company successions in Germany - Current trends
Since the last large-scale, nationwide company survey on the topic of succession was conducted in Germany in 1989, there was a need for up-to-date data.