Ways Out of the Empirical Mittelstand Research Dilemma

According to unanimous opinion, German Mittelstand companies are primarily characterised by the fact that their ownership and management are in one hand. However, in empirical research on the Mittelstand and in almost all reports dealing with their actual size and importance, they are equated with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The reason for this is that Mittelstand firms cannot be adequately defined on the basis of official data. As a result, almost all empirical research on the Mittelstand is effectively research on small and medium-sized enterprises. In order to avoid this dilemma, three special questions have been integrated into the ifo Business Survey, which allow the proper identification of Mittelstand companies. The results show that, as expected, the Mittelstand ratio is very much overstated by the SME ratio. With these special questions, ifo's data now offer the opportunity to provide fresh impetus for empirical research on the Mittelstand to overcome the dilemma described above.