An ideal environment for collaboration
Time for a brief review: for over a year, Prof. Dr. Friederike Welter has been both president of the IfM SME research institute in Bonn and professor of business at the University of Siegen.
The partnership between the University of Siegen and the Bonn Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM), a research institute in the SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) field, has been running for a year now. Prof. Dr. Friederike Welter has been president of the IfM since 1 February 2013 and also professor of business at the University of Siegen, where she specialises in management for small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurship. Launched on the initiative of Ludwig Erhard, the IfM Bonn was set up in 1957 by the Federal Republic of Germany and the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia as a private law foundation. It is one of the leading SME research institutions in Germany. The role of the IfM Bonn is to investigate the situation, development and problems of the SME sector, to make the findings of its research public, and to contribute to the work of its founder bodies. The partnership was proposed by the chairman of the IfM board of trustees, Hartmut Schauerte, and the president of the University of Siegen, Prof. Dr. Holger Burckhart.
Just thirteen months down the line, the pioneering partnership has already proved extremely productive. According to Prof. Welter, “the IfM Bonn and Faculty III (Economics, Business Computing and Commercial Law) at the University of Siegen are an excellent combination.“ The conditions for a partnership are excellent. Southern Westphalia has one of the strongest SME sectors in Germany, and the University of Siegen has successfully established its SME research specialism. Welter believes that "the partnership expands [the IfM’s] research capacity and offers new perspectives.” Forty-six members of staff work on the IfM Bonn team, including twenty-four academics. The partnership has opened up new opportunities for both institutions.
“Two joint research projects have already been launched”, explains Prof. Welter. The first is focussing on business start-ups and crowd funding and is being run in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Petra Moog. Prof. Moog is a University of Siegen specialist on company succession and innovative business start-ups. According to Prof. Welter, the project “seeks to examine the role of crowd funding as a new form of finance, for example in start-ups.” In crowd funding, all project investors are generally acquired online. The second project with Siegen’s Prof. Dr. Arnd Wiedemann (Financial and Bank Management) is analysing the financial structures and strategies of small and medium-sized businesses. “What gave us the idea for the project”, says Prof. Wiedemann, “is the fact that SME in particular have been able to significantly increase their equity, in or in spite of the financial crisis.“ For the IfM president, “SME finance is an important field for our research institution, but one which we have been unable to work on for a number of years as a result of changes to our team. In partnership with the University of Siegen, we are now seeking to commit to this area once again. The IfM Bonn now has the great advantage of being able to work with renowned experts in this field.”
Prof. Welter sees the partnership as a “win-win situation”. It gives academics from the University of Siegen the chance to work with the IfM Bonn and get “a foot in the scientific and a foot in the practical, business policy door”. She believes that unique situation offers other publication options. “I have always been interested not just in the research itself, but also in its relevance in our society.” According to Prof. Welter, the main priority is not to publish the research findings in professional journals, but first and foremost to provide information to the founder bodies, to business associations and to business policymakers. “Our research has long-term and practical benefits.”
Prof. Welter’s dual role as president of the IfM Bonn and professor at the University of Siegen is now widely recognised. “Both the IfM Bonn and the University of Siegen are engaged in SME research”, she says. “I am now closely associated with both institutions.” Prof. Welter also sees a very personal benefit that the partnership offers her: she can continue to teach. She currently runs a number of two-semester Masters project seminars, for example on policy advice for SMEs. Those who attend Prof. Welter’s seminars are, in her view, “really keen, smart people”. An excursion to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is planned for the summer. “We will have the chance to meet with people at a level of the Ministry hierarchy that is not accessible to everyone.”
The IfM Bonn office at the University of Siegen has already been set up, and further options for collaboration are already being explored. Prof. Welter’s “goal for the future” is “to acquire funding from the German research association DFG for an SME research group“. At the same time, the IfM president still has one eye firmly on the region of Southern Westphalia. “We are looking at what projects are out to tender, for example at an EU level, for region-related research.”