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''Mittelstand'' commonly refers to small and medium-sized enterprises in German-speaking countries, especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. However, The Mittelstand proves difficult to translate and causes a lot of confusion. The majority of definitions define the Mittelstand as a statistical category and most commonly suggest that Mittelstand firms are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs; German, ''kleine und mittlere Unternehmen'' or ''KMU'') with annual revenues up to 50 million Euro and a maximum of 499 employees. However, the term is not officially defined or self-explanatory hence, in English linguistic terms SMEs are not necessarily equivalent to the Mittelstand. In fact, even larger, and often family-owned, firms claim to be part of the Mittelstand, such as Robert Bosch based on the Mittelstand's positive connotations. The term Mittelstand mainly applies to mid-sized firms as opposed to larger listed companies and most importantly Mittelstand companies are characterized by a common set of values and management practices.〔 Venohr, B., Fear, J., & Witt, A. (2015). "Best of German Mittelstand- The world market leaders." In Langenscheidt, F. & Venohr, B. (Eds.) The Best of German Mittelstand. cologne: Deutsche Standards Editionen〕 Already Ludwig Erhard, the former Economics Minister who crafted the post-war (West) Germany's economic miracle (German: Wirtschaftswunder) warned not reduce the Mittelstand to a mere quantitative definition, but instead emphasized more qualitative characteristics which embody the German Mittelstand, as it is ''"...much more of an ethos and a fundamental disposition of how one acts and behaves in society.''"〔Erhard, L. 1956. ‘Mittelstandspolitik.’ In Rüstow, A. inter alia (Eds.), Der mittelständische Unternehmer in der Sozialen Marktwirtschaft.Wortlaut der Vorträge auf der vierten Arbeitstagung der Aktionsgemeinschaft Soziale Marktwirtschaft e.V am 17 November 1955 in Bad Godesberg: 51-61. 1st Ed., Ludwigsburg.〕 What does define the Mittelstand, is a much broader set of values and more elastic definitions.〔Witt, A. 2015. ‘Global Hidden Champions: The Internationalisation Paths, Entry Modes and Underlying Competitive Advantages of Germany’s and Britain’s Global Top Three Niche Players.’ PhD Thesis, University of Edinburgh Business School.〕 Business historians〔Fear, J. 2012. ‘Straight outta Oberberg: Transforming mid-sized family firms into global champions 1970-2010.’ In D. Ziegler (Ed.), Economic History Yearbook (Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte): 125-169, Oldenburg: De Gruyter.〕〔Berghoff, H. 2004. Moderne Unternehmensgeschichte: Eine themen- und theorieorientierte Einführung. Paderborn: Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh.〕 define various traits associated with Mittelstand firms, such as: * Family ownership or family-like corporate culture * Generational continuity * Long-term focus * Independence * Nimbleness * Emotional attachment * Investment into the workforce * Flexibility * Lean hierarchies * Innovativeness * Customer focus * Social responsibility * Strong regional ties The latest English publication on Mittelstand firms by Prof. Bernd Venohr, Prof. Jeffrey Fear and Dr. Alessa Witt highlights that: ''"These companies are predominantly run by classic “owner-entrepreneurial families” (Unternehmerfamilien) seeking to sustain the business by instituting a core ideology of longevity, conservative long-term financing, and operating practices."''〔 The Mittelstand acts as a counterpoint to a singular focus on shareholder value and dispersed investor-orientated shareholding. == Germany's business 'landscape' and the role of the Mittelstand == Due to the broad set of values which define the Mittelstand, Venohr, Fear & Witt (2015)〔 divide Germany's 'business landscape' into three distinct categories of Mittelstand firms. # '' # '' # ''Large cooperations,'' which account for 0,02% of German firms (revenues over 1 billion EUR) and are more well-known companies, inlcuding the DAX 30 companies. This pyramid shows that over 99% of German firms are Mittelstand firms but 0,34 depart from the classic small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) definition. The two categories of 'classic' and 'upper' Mittelstand firms in Germany account for 68% of Germany's exports. In comparison, Germany's larger cooperation generate 32% of Germany's exports.〔 The 'upper'-sized Mittelstand firms (revenues between 50 million EUR and 1 billion EUR) form a unique and distinctive group, as they are the most export-orientated group of firms in Germany's business landscape contributing significantly to Germany's sustained export success. As such, ''Mittelstand firms clearly form'' ''the backbone of the German economy''''.'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mittelstand」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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