Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

That German has a special word – Mittelstand – for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is an indication of their role at the core of the German economy. SMEs – defined as having a workforce of between 50 and 500 –provide more than three quarters of all jobs and eight out of ten vocational training places.

Die Siemens-Medizintechnik-Tochter Siemens Healthineers erlebte Mitte März 2018 ihr Börsendebut und wird nun im TecDax gelistet.

Klaus-Heiner Röhl ·
IW-Trends No. 3 ·
25 Oct 2018

Business Splits: Economic Aspects of a Global Trend

While there has long been a trend towards large companies becoming dominant through takeovers, in Germany and internationally an opposite trend has recently set in: the breaking up of companies as a result of sales, IPOs or spin-offs is clearly on the increase.

Klaus-Heiner Röhl ·
External Publications ·
10 May 2018

Entrepreneurship: A comparative study of the interplay of culture and personality from a regional perspective

Many parts of Europe are lagging behind the United States in the number of successful start-ups as most European regions are characterized by little entrepreneurial activity. Innovative start-ups aiming to become global companies are scarce, reducing the overall growth potential.

Klaus-Heiner Röhl ·
IW-Analyse No. 116 ·
14 Jun 2017

European SME Policy

The European Union policy and regulation influence the almost 23 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and similarly structured larger companies in the 28 member countries in many different ways. So far, however, attempts at a distinct EU SME policy have remained fragmentary.

Klaus-Heiner Röhl ·
IW-Policy Paper No. 7 ·
31 May 2017

European SME Policy: Recommendations for a Growth-Oriented Agenda

As a result of the European debt crisis, start-ups and established small and medium-sized companies have returned into focus for policy-makers in Brussels. They hope that SMEs create more jobs and growth. Despite this, the concerns of SMEs are still not at the heart of economic policy and regulation.

Christoph Schröder ·
IW-Trends No. 3 ·
20 Sep 2016

An International Comparison of Industrial Labour Costs

In 2015 labour costs in western German manufacturing industry were 40.90 euros per employee-hour, putting the region sixth out of a total of 44 countries in the IW labour cost comparison. Its labour costs are almost a quarter higher than the average for highly industrialised nations.