Springe direkt zu Inhalt

VIVA KMU

VIVA KMU

Evolution Perspectives of German Small and Mid-Sized Industrial Companies: Changing Innovation Patterns for New Challenges (VIVA-KMU)

(KMU = Small and Mid-Sized Companies)

  • Project description:

Industrial small and mid-size enterprises (SME) contribute significantly to the innovation and technological capabilities of Germany. This project intends to lead to an understanding about how the performance and innovation capabilities of the German SMEs in manufacturing sectors will evolve over the next decade and how to maximize their potential through specific political support and promotion. The aim of this project is to develop a SME typology of the German manufacturing sector by considering their different innovation patterns, from which statements regarding each specific innovation potential but also possible problems and requirements can be deduced. Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), the Chair of Innovation Management at the Freie Universität Berlin has developed a typology of existing policy measures for SMEs and verified through various case studies the adaptability of existing instruments. These findings provide a solid foundation for the implementation and discussion of new approaches to political support for different types of SMEs.

  • Funding authority: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)