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Third party research

Do you have a (research) question in mind? Are you planning to conduct a study? Are you in need of our expertise?

The IfM Bonn will be happy to assist and to co-operate with you. Our service starts with the development of a research concept, continues with the (empirical) analysis and the writing of a report and ends with the public dissemination of the results. In every project phase, we co-ordinate work with you to achieve tailored results.

The research activities of the IfM Bonn include a wide range of different topics related to Mittelstand and SMEs. Our researchers have outstanding expertise in the fields of entrepreneurship, employment in SMEs, digitisation and family business. The institute's strength lies in the interdisciplinary composition of our team of researchers, which includes economists, business economists, psychologists, sociologists and mathematicians. We adopt qualitative as well as quantitative methods - often in combination (mixed-methods design).

We are looking forward to working with you. For further information, please contact schroeder(at)ifm-bonn.org.

Completed third party funded projects (selection)

External publicationPrivate Equity in the Mittelstand - Analysis of the Development of Private Equity Financed Companies

The aim of the study is to analyze the development of equity-financed companies in comparision to companies without private equity financing. Overall, the equity-financed companies developed very positively and outperformed the randomly selected peer group of companies without equity financing.

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External publicationDigital B2B-Platforms - Status quo and Perspectives for the Industry in Germany

Compared to digital C2C platforms, B2B market segments are smaller and more specific. Therefore, network effects have a weaker impact on B2B platform mar-kets, which means that monopolisation tendencies are also lower.

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External publicationCrises of SMEs: challenges, developments, and resilience of women- and migrant-led companies

This study examines the process of a business crisis of small companies of all sectors of the economy in the Frankfurt/Main (Germany) area. Particular emphasis is laid on the challenges faced by migrant- and women-led companies.

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External publicationProductivity of small and medium sized enterprises in Germany

The study examines the labor productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

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