Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) significantly contribute to the development of innovation and the creation of new jobs. Thus, they occupy a central position for economic development. Cross-border networking and internationalization activities are key aspects in this regard. This research project therefore examines the conditions for innovation activities and internationalization of SMEs in Central and South-Eastern Europe.

Firstly, the involvement of German and Austrian SMEs is of relevance here, which characterizes the economic relations between Germany and Austria on the one hand, and Central and South-Eastern European states on the other hand. This is also reflected in the new Danube Region Strategy of the European Union.

Secondly, the influence of the legal framework conditions on innovation and investment activities of SME is at the centre of analyses. The choice of company legal form has far reaching legal and economic consequences for a company, which relate to its internal as well as its external relations. Therefore, the development of company law is given special attention.

Finally, experience abroad and networking are also crucial for entrepreneurship. The sub-project ‘networking and knowledge transfer’ analyses how networks and skills and qualifications acquired abroad contribute to the success of returnees in their home country. For this purpose, start-ups, family businesses and other small and medium-sized enterprises as well as subsidiaries of multinational companies are examined. In addition to the immediate entrepreneurial success of the returnees, the focus is also on effects in their country, in particular networking, innovation and knowledge transfer.

Sub-projects: 

• Internationalization strategies of SMEs in international competition
• Promotion of innovation activities by the third sector
• Demographic change, the labor market and migration in transition economies
• Networks and knowledge transfer– entrepreneurial activities of returnees in the Western Balkans

Contributors and cooperation partners: 

• Dr. Martina Eckardt, Andrássy University Budapest
• Dr. Stefan Okruch, Andrássy University Budapest
• Dr. Wolfgang Kerber, Universität Marburg
• Nina Kandler-Schmidt, Andrássy Universität Budapest/ Audi AG Ingolstadt
• Jutta Sehic, Andrássy Universität Budapest

Organisation of conferences and lecture series

„New ways of innovations policy design and its evaluation – insights from complex adaptive systems and beyond”, Workshop der European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE) vom 15.-16. November 2018 an der Andrássy Universität Budapest (coordinated by Martina Eckardt and Jutta Sehic, Andrássy University Budapest).

„Wettbewerb der Gesellschaftsrechtsordnungen in Ostmitteleuropa?, Budapest, Ungarn, 22.- 23.Mai 2014 (coordinated by Martina Eckardt and Christian Schubel).

„Der Donau-Raum in Europa“, Jubiläumskonferenz vom 19.-20. Mai 2011 an der Andrássy Universität Budapest, mit dem Schwerpunkt „Der Donau-Raum als eine neue EU-Region“ (economic focus  „Die Förderung der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung in Mittel-Ost-Europa“ coordinated by Martina Eckardt, Andrássy University Budapest).

Vorträge

Martina Eckardt (2016): „Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Ungarns. Teilnahme am Panel: Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Europas: Neue Wege und Konzepte – gemeinsame Potentiale, 26. Deutsch-Ungarisches Forum, (Budapest, Hungary, 25-26 October 2016).

Martina Eckardt (2014): “Legal Form and Internationalisation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the EU”, Annual Meeting of the German Law and Economic Association, (Gent, Belgium, 10-12 July 2014).

Martina Eckardt (2013): „Die Donauraumstrategie und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der Donauregion – ein Überblick zum Status Quo, International conference „Die EU-Donauraumstrategie auf dem Prüfstand: Erfahrungen und Perspektiven“, (Budapest, 15-17 October 2013).

Martina Eckardt (2012): “The Societas Privata Europaea (SPE) – Will it Promote the Internationalization of SMEs?, Annual Meeting of the International Society for New Institutional Economics, (Los Angeles, USA, 14-16 June 2012).

Martina Eckardt (2010): Ungarns Wirtschaft in der Krise. Annual Meeting of Finanzwissenschaftlicher Ausschuss des Vereins für Socialpolitik (Budapest, 27-29 May 2010).

Martina Eckardt and Christopher Stehr (2010): Kleine und mittlere Unternehmen in der Globalisierung – Erfolgsfaktoren und -hemmnisse, „Ungarn zwischen den Welten“, Internationales Wissenschaftliches
Kolloquium, (Karlsruhe, Germany, 30 April - 2 Mai 2010).

Jutta Sehic (2018): "Linkages across Different Spatial Levels and Innovation Novelty: An analysis of SME in Central and South Eastern Europe" at the ‘4. Geography of Innovation Conference GEOInno 2018‘ (Barcelona, Spain, 31. January - 2 Feburary 2018)

Jutta Sehic (2017): „Effects of cross border ties on novelty of innovation: An analysis of innovative SME in Central and South Eastern Europe“ presentation at the research group ‚Agglomeration and Social Networks‘,  Centre for Economic and Regional Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Budapest, Hungary, 15 December 2017).

Jutta Sehic (2017): "Linkages across Different Spatial Levels and Innovation Novelty: An analysis of SME in Central and South Eastern Europe" at the ‚Regional Studies Association Central and Eastern Europe Conference 2017: Regional Polarisation and Unequal Development in CEE: Challenges for Innovative Place-based Policies’ (Cluj-Napoca, Romania 10-13 September 2017).

Jutta Sehic (2017): “Innovation, Novelty and International Linkages of SME in the new and potential EU member states of Central and South Eastern Europe” at the conference on ‘Theory and Applications in the Knowledge Economy‘ (Zagreb, Croatia, 12-14 July 2017).

Jutta Sehic (2016): „Bringing Together Tacit Knowledge – Links in Innovative Firms‘ Networks in Transition Countries“ at the workshop “Entrepreneurship Innovation Trans-formation”, 2nd Research Area [X] ‘Networks’ of the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE), (Bochum, Germany 28-29 November 2016).

Publications:

Eckardt, Martina (2017). Die EU Strategie für den Donauraum – ein Beitrag zur Verbesserung der regionalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit?, in: Bos, Ellen, Griessler, Christina and Walsch, Christopher (eds.), Die EU- Strategie für den Donauraum auf dem Prüfstand. Erfahrungen und Perspektiven, Andrassy Studien zur Europaforschung, Bd.18, Baden-Baden: Nomos, S. 247-273.

Eckardt, Martina (2014). Legal Form and Internationalization of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the EU. Andrássy Working Papers, 31.

Eckardt, Martina (2013). Der Einfluss der Unternehmensrechtsform auf die Internationalisierung von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen, in: Bos, Ellen u.a. (Hrsg.): Der Donauraum in Europa, Andrássy Studien zur Europaforschung, Bd. 1, Baden-Baden, S.143-181.

Eckardt, Martina (2012). The European Private Company: Do we Need another 28th Private Company Law Form? Regulatory Competition of Corporate Law in the EU, in: Discussions on Estonian Economic Policy, Nr.1, Berlin, 39-57 (CD-Rom), available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2190951.

Eckardt, Martina and Stehr, Christopher (2011). Internationalisierungs-strategien von Kleinen und Mittleren Unternehmen – ein deutsch-ungarischer Vergleich anhand ausgewählter branchenspezifischer Beispiele, Heilbronn, im Erscheinen.

Eckardt, Martina (2010). Micro and Small Enterprise Finance and Demographic Change – Research Report Part 1, Budapest Dezember 2010 (zusammen mit Zoltán Persovits).

Eckardt, Martina (2010). Kleine und mittlere Unternehmen in der Globalisierung: Erfolgsfaktoren und - hemmnisse. Eine empirische Untersuchung im Auftrag des ungarischen Wirtschaftsministeriums, Budapest (in cooperation with Christopher Stehr, Anja-Maria Römisch und Bence Kluge).

Eckardt, Martina and Lechner, Anja (2016). Und es gibt ihn doch - den Wettbewerb im europäischen Gesellschaftsrecht: eine evolutionsökonomische Analyse unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der zentralen Rolle von Rechtsintermediären, in: Eckardt, Martina and Schubel, Christian (eds.): Wettbewerb der Gesellschaftsrechtsordnungen in Ostmitteleuropa?, Andrassy Studien zur Europaforschung, Bd.16, Baden-Baden, S.139-168.

Eckardt, Martina and Schubel, Christian (2016). Wettbewerb der Gesellschaftsrechtsordnungen in Ost-Mitteleuropa?. Baden-Baden: Nomos (Andrássy Studien zur Europaforschung, 16), 194 pages.

Kerber, Wolfgang and Eckardt, Martina (2014). Developing Two Tiered Regulatory Competition in EU Corporate Law: Assessing the Impact of the Societas Privata Europaea, in: Journal of Law and Society, Special Issue, Vol. 41, S. 152-170 (leicht geänderte Fassung von: Horizontal and Vertical Regulatory Competition in EU Company Law: The Case of the European Private Company (SPE), in: Kaal, Wulf A., Schmidt, Matthias and Schwartze, Andreas (eds.): Festschrift zu Ehren von Christian Kirchner - Recht im ökonomischen Kontext, Tübingen , S.1145-1163.

Kerber, Wolfgang und Eckardt, Martina (2014). Horizontal and Vertical Regulatory Competition in EU Company Law: The Case of the European Private Company (SPE), in: Kaal, Wulf A., Schmidt, Matthias and Schwartze, Andreas (Hrsg.): Festschrift zu Ehren von Christian Kirchner - Recht im ökonomischen Kontext, Tübingen, S. 1145-1163 (earlier version of Developing Two Tiered Regulatory Competition in EU Corporate Law: Assessing the Impact of the Societas Privata Europaea, in: Journal of Law and Society, Special Issue, Vol.41, 2014, 152-170).

Sehic, Jutta (2018). Bringing Together Tacit Knowledge – Links in Innovative Firms‘ Networks in Transition Countries. Andrássy Working Paper Series in Economics and Business Administration – in press.