Another Prestigious Award for Professor Friederike Welter
Prof. Friederike Welter (University of Siegen/Institute for SME Research in Bonn) has received the “Dedication to Entrepreneurship Award 2026.” The award is presented to individuals or organizations that have advanced their scholarly work and teaching in the field of entrepreneurship in a variety of ways throughout their careers and have raised public awareness of this field. At the same time, it recognizes their efforts to foster communication and collaboration both among researchers and with policymakers. The award was presented by the Academy of Management (AOM) in Philadelphia.
The nomination of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Welter particularly highlighted that the Siegen-based professor and IfM president not only embodies the spirit of commitment that this award honors, but is also a scholar who shapes research, helps shape policy, and actively invests in the next generation of entrepreneurship researchers.
The Dedication to Entrepreneurship Award has been presented since 1989. Professor Friederike Welter is the second German—after Michael Frese (Leuphana University of Lüneburg)—and the fifth woman overall to receive the award. The Academy of Management is the oldest and largest academic management association in the world, based in the United States.
Upon the announcement of the award, Professor Friederike Welter emphasized that conducting academic research on small and medium-sized enterprises has been a labor of love for her ever since her student days. At the same time, she emphasized how delighted she is to receive this award: “I have been an enthusiastic member of the AOM Entrepreneurship Division since 2004: The diverse mix of entrepreneurship researchers consistently leads to new ideas and people from whom one can draw inspiration.”
Professor Friederike Welter, Member of Academia Europaea (MAE), is the full-time president of the Institute for SME Research (IfM) in Bonn. She also holds the Chair of Business Administration, specializing in the management of small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship, at the University of Siegen. For her research on small and medium-sized enterprises, she was recently awarded the Foundational Paper Award by the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management. In 2023, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow.
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