Start-Ups Meet SMEs

Abstract

Since 2015, we have met numerous SMEs through our “Innovation offensive for SMEs and founders”—for example, Ille Papier Service GmbH in Altenstadt with 500 employees, and Heggemann AG in Büren, which has 200. These are two highly innovative companies; both regularly develop new products and services. Ille Papier Service GmbH focuses on hygiene products (ILLE Papier Service GmbH, Einsatzgebiete [Applications], 2018), while Heggemann AG’s main business is producing parts for the aerospace industry (Heggemann, About, 2018). The objective of the “Innovation offensive” is to network enterprises—particularly SMEs—, start-ups, research institutes and multipliers, positioning them to work together on new joint projects and products. Unlike corporations, neither of the two SMEs mentioned above has a large in-house R&D department; these enterprises are dependent on collaboration to develop new products and services. The same is true for most small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Only around 80,000 people (BMBF, Bundesbericht Forschung und Innovation 2014 [Federal Report on Research and Innovation 2014], p. 99, 2014) work in research and development at SMEs (Institut für Mittelstandsforschung Bonn, Mittelstandsdefinition des IfM [IfM definition of Mittelstand (SMEs)], 2018). These enterprises often lack financial resources and find themselves “mired” in their operative business, making it simply impossible for the typical SME to develop an in-house R&D department.