Doctoral Candidate and MBA Program Manager at WFI - Ingolstadt School of Management, KU Germany
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ-๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐? ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐. This post is co-created byย Maximilian Bauerย andย Shashi Matta We hosted a panel of SME business leaders (from the German Mittelstand), Start-ups founders, and players in the regional Innovation Ecosystem, on campus at theย WFI - Ingolstadt School of Managementย at theย Catholic University of Eichstรคtt-Ingolstadt,ย for a stimulating panel discussion as part of the Long Night of Business and Science in Ingolstadt (Lange Nacht der Unternehmen und Wissenschaft). The German #Mittelstand accounts for 99% of all #businesses, employs 60% of the #workforce, and contributes to over 50% of the #GDP in Germany. This economic powerhouse is known for its stability but faces many challenges in todayโs business and geo-political environment. Can these SMEs collaborate with Start-ups to innovate, create market value, and capture competitive advantage? Though there are examples of such successful #collaboration, they are rare, and thereโs vast untapped potential. Weโre proud to present our amazing panelists in the images below โย Bernhard Bauer, Maria Mair, Josef Schmidt, Felix Frรถhling, Armin Hackner, Sebastian Brand, and Anja Schlippes-Rembolt. Here's what we learned from this thought-provoking panel discussion โ โ ย ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐๐ค๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ข๐๐๐ฌ: Fears of intellectual property protection, diluted company culture, or perceived threats to autonomy can stifle the willingness to collaborate. It is crucial for SMEs and Start-ups to recognize the potential to develop groundbreaking #innovations. โ ย ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ซ:ย At first glance, Mittelstand companies and start-ups may appear to have divergent goals and incentives. SMEs, with established market presence and tested business models, often prioritize #stability and incremental #growth. In contrast, start-ups, driven by #agility and #disruption, seek rapid expansion and transformative breakthroughs. โ ย ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ-๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฌ:ย Embracing the concept of Open Innovation can be the key to harnessing the combined power of SMEs and start-ups. Collaborative #networks, joint research projects, and strategic partnerships can empower both SMEs and Start-ups to unlock the full potential of German innovation. If you liked this post, hereโs our post on the most crucial Future Skills for you to be INNOVATION READY: โชย https://lnkd.in/eWBUP-dz Share your thoughts on collaboration between SMEs and Start-ups that you know or work with, with a Comment! ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ย ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซย ๐ ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐,ย ๐๐ย ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ย ๐๐๐๐๐. #competitiveadvantage #marketvalue #openinnovation #sme
Fear of losing IP advantage can limit some SMEs to innovate with start-ups. Iโve seen that myself.
Cool panel and seems like a grounded discussion.
Thank you for sharing, Maximilian Bauer and Shashi Matta
Innovation comes from collaboration between young and old, stable and disruptive, established and new. Thanks for sharing!
I didnโt know how strong the small and medium size companies are in Germany. Thank you for posting!
Great insights about SMEs!
Awesome post, cool insights!
Doctoral Candidate and MBA Program Manager at WFI - Ingolstadt School of Management, KU Germany
1yA big Shoutout and Thank you to our seven Expert Panelists for their participation in our Event on the Long Night of Business and Science, by the Initiative Regionalmanagement Region Ingolstadt (IRMA) e.V. - Bernhard Bauer - Landbรคckerei Ihle GmbH & Co. KG, Maria Mair - CoE Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, Josef Schmidt - digital workbench gmbh, Felix Frรถhling - thireks, Armin Hackner - transform.10, Sebastian Brand - #mitdenkt, and Anja Schlappes-Rembold - Agentur fรผr Arbeit Ingolstadt