Since November 2016, the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn and the Förderkreis Gründungs-Forschung e.V. (FGF) have jointly published the policy brief “Entrepreneurship in Focus”. On two pages, scientifically based research findings on current topics are presented together with possible policy recommendations (Call for Papers).
Current issues of the Policy Brief
Issue 5/2025
Craftspeople are characterised by a high degree of precision, quality and diligence in their technical work. According to research by Dr Petrik Runst (Thünen Institute) and Dr Jörg Thomä (ifh Göttingen), the character trait “conscientiousness” is therefore a good basis for starting a business in the skilled trades. They therefore recommend that this aspect should be kept in mind when offering career coaching and start-up advice.
The article “Craftsmanship and Entrepreneurship: A New Look at the Role of the Big Five Trait ‘Conscientiousness’ʺ has been published in the Policy Brief series by the Research Network Entrepreneurship, Innovation and SMEs and IfM Bonn.
Issue 4/2025
Do parental allowances and parental leave affect mothers’ willingness to start their own businesses? A team of authors analyses this question in the latest Policy Brief, “Time or money? Mothers and Start-up Decisions“. The result: the length of parental leave has a significant influence on start-up intentions. The longer it takes, the greater is the willingness of women to implement their start-up idea. In contrast, the amount of parental allowance only plays a role for potential female entrepreneurs if they have strong family ties.
The policy brief series “Entrepreneurship in Focus” is published by the FGF Research Network Entrepreneurship, Innovation and SMEs and IfM Bonn.
Issue 3/2025
Women still start businesses less often than men. According to research by Dr Natalia Gorynia-Pfeffer and Armin Baharian (both from the RKW Competence Centre in Eschborn), a more targeted approach with specific content could help to motivate more women to start a business. This includes, above all, information on legal, tax and accounting issues, as well as options for starting out on a part-time basis.
The two-page article “Content and communication channels for successfully addressing women with the topic of entrepreneurship” has been published in the policy brief series “Entrepreneurship in Focus”, which is published by the FGF Research Network Entrepreneurship, Innovation and SMEs and IfM Bonn.
Issue 2/2025
A start-up basic income guarantee covering social benefits, protection against dismissal and benefits equivalent to the general basic income guarantee for up to one year, as well as simplified access to venture capital, could help young people to realise their start-up plans more often. This is the conclusion drawn by Jens Schüler, Matthias Baum (both University of Bayreuth), Ivo Andrade and Tobias Bürger (both Bertelsmann Stiftung/Gütersloh) in their policy brief “What really helps young People start a Business“.
The two-page article is published in the policy brief series “Entrepreneurship in Focus”, which is published by the FGF Research Network Entrepreneurship, Innovation and SMEs and IfM Bonn.
Issue 1/2025
In North Rhine-Westphalia, only about one third of craft businesses currently use artificial intelligence. The main applications are chatbots, voice assistants, translation software and image and video editing.
In his policy brief “Artificial Intelligence in the Craft Sector“, Prof. Dr. Klaus Schafmeister (University of Applied Sciences for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Bielefeld) presents the results of a survey of more than 800 craft businesses. He shows the challenges faced by companies are facing and what politicians can do to promote the expansion of AI in the craft sector. The article has been published in the policy brief series by IfM Bonn and FGF e.V.