Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship, understood as recognizing and exploiting entrepreneurial opportunities, is a key driver of economic growth, social change and technological progress. In three competence areas, the research area Entrepreneurship of the ifm Mannheim deals with founder personalities and founder teams (Entrepreneurs and Teams), with seizing entrepreneurial opportunities and the developing organization (Entrepreneurial Organizations), as well as with the ocerarching entrepreneurial environment (Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Innovations)
The focus area “Entrepreneurs and Teams” approaches the phenomenon of entrepreneurial thinking and acting by starting at the micro-level of the individual in its close environment. Individual human capital, personality factors and behaviors are just as much a focus as team dynamics and interactions with the micro-social environment. In the competence field “Entrepreneurial Organizations”, the focus of analysis shifts to the level of startup companies and deals with business models or organizational forms and their influence on startup performance. Entrepreneurial thinking and acting within organizations (intrapreneurship) is also studied. In the competence field “Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Innovations”, we study structures and institutions in the macro environment. This includes networks, clusters or offers of entrepreneurship education and business development, and their impact on entrepreneurial success and innovation of individuals, companies, startup ecosystem and entire economies.