For the study “SMEs meet Startup 21: Potentials of Collaboration”, which was carried out for the third time, surveyed the RKW Competence Center 250 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were surveyed on their cooperation with startups. Participating companies had to have a maximum of 500 employees and have been in the market for more than five years. Startups were defined in the survey as companies that have been active in the market for less than five years and are characterized by innovative product or business models and high growth. The focus of this survey was on the following sectors: chemicals and pharmaceuticals, information and communications technology, automotive engineering, and mechanical engineering.
Smaller companies strive for more digitalization
The current study concludes that the proportion of companies that cooperate with startups currently stands at 36 percent, or roughly one-third of all respondents. Medium-sized companies in the information and communications sector, in particular, cooperate with startups at an above-average rate, while SMEs in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries cooperate less frequently. The survey also reveals that strong personal and professional networks, as well as contacts with the management of a startup or company, are the most important prerequisites for successful collaborations.
The companies surveyed also stated that "innovation development" (66 percent) and "development of new technologies" (57 percent) are the main motives for collaborating with startups. Finally, the study concludes that the smaller a company, the greater the importance of its digitalization strategy.
Cooperation profitable for both sides
The head of the department “Business Start-ups, Financing and Funding Advice” of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), Anette Rückert, comments on the study as follows:
"The results and suggestions of the RKW Competence Center's study "Mittelstand meets Startup" should inspire even more medium-sized companies to incorporate startup collaborations as a natural component of their research and development activities. Both the startup and the medium-sized company benefit from this collaboration."
If you are interested in the topic, you can learn more about Baystartup industry cooperations here.
