Steinbeis Innovation Hub brings SMEs and start-ups together

20 Dec. 2023
  • MORE than just knowledge

Steinbeis initiative aims to continue the successful work of the “Bosch Startup Harbor”

SMEs are the backbone of the German economy.[1] To safeguard this successful model, SMEs need to further develop their established strengths and make targeted use of the potential of new technologies. Cooperation with start-ups in particular can make a significant contribution to shaping such transformation processes. This was precisely the focus of the already completed “Bosch Startup Harbour” project – and is to be continued with the Steinbeis Innovation Hub.

As part of the multi-year Bosch Startup Harbour, funded by the European Union (European Social Fund) and the Berlin Senate, Steinbeis experts Dr.-Ing. Peter Schupp and Dr. Julian Kahl worked together with Robert Bosch GmbH and gained experience in the incubation of early-stage start-ups. The project focused on networking start-ups with various business units of the Bosch Group in order to validate new technologies and business models and drive the ventures forward.[2] The “Steinbeis Innovation Hub” initiative of the School of Management and Technology, a business school of Steinbeis University, aims to further develop this approach and give SMEs access to innovative start-ups in the future. “We want to support SMEs and start-ups in the initiation and implementation of application-oriented projects in research, development, consulting and qualification,” say Peter Schupp and Julian Kahl, explaining their project.

The path to the New Mittelstand

Collaboration between SMEs and innovative start-ups offers numerous advantages for both partners: the combination of incremental innovation in existing business and radical innovation by young companies creates a basis for transformation and makes it possible to overcome existing barriers to innovation. The “innovator’s dilemma” [3] sums up one of the main barriers to innovation in the SME sector: established companies have few incentives to deviate from their successful market technologies and focus on new (discontinuous) technologies due to their innovation successes in the past. Existing customer relationships and market reputation as well as “sunk costs” often tempt companies to focus solely on their strengths in incremental technology development. However, the massive transformation requirements on the way to the New Mittelstand, such as the decarbonization of industrial processes, the transition to electric and new forms of mobility as well as the rapid development of digitalization in general and artificial intelligence in particular, require greater innovation efforts[4,5,6].

Win-win situation for all partners

Collaborations between SMEs and start-ups offer considerable potential for transformation by creating access to new technologies and business models[7], allowing potential beyond the technology paths already successfully established within the company to be identified and tested. Furthermore, such collaborations allow SMEs to gain insights into the agile working methods and high speed of innovation typical of start-ups and provide new impetus for their own innovation culture. There are also numerous advantages for start-ups. Acquiring the first paying customers is one of the key hurdles for early-stage start-ups, whose technical development is often not yet complete and whose business models are untested. Successful pilot projects with cooperation partners can contribute significantly to the validation of technologies and business models and act as a door opener for the subsequent acquisition of customers and investors, as the Bosch Startup Harbour has also shown.

Despite the significant advantages that arise from cooperation between SMEs and start-ups, the potential has not yet been fully exploited. There is often a lack of transparency regarding suitable cooperation partners and technology providers[8] and only a few SMEs have their own accelerator or co-innovation programs to systematically support cooperation projects. Furthermore, start-ups often still lack the maturity to exploit the full potential of collaborations.

Outlook on the work of the hub

In future, the Steinbeis Innovation Hub will bring together medium-sized companies located throughout Germany with innovative start-ups in leading start-up cities such as Berlin and Tel Aviv. The core competencies of the Steinbeis team led by Peter Schupp and Julian Kahl lie in the personalized qualification of junior staff and the teaching of transfer and intrapreneurship skills as part of the Steinbeis University’s project competence study program. Based on this, the Steinbeis Innovation Hub will offer process-accompanying coaching and qualifications from Steinbeis experts and support the start-up teams in their projects. These support services and the integration of internal and external (network) partners from Steinbeis enable the bridging of the gap between start-ups and SMEs. The main forms of cooperation that the Steinbeis Innovation Hub wants to organize and support include learning journeys and innovation projects. The former involve informal meetings and the targeted exchange of information between SMEs and start-ups in certain previously defined fields of technology. The main result of such learning journeys is the initial recognition of the potential of new technologies and possible cooperation projects. Everyone involved in the hub can benefit from this in the future. Innovation projects provide a framework in which SMEs and start-ups can cooperate on specific research and development projects. The subject matter can be the solution of specific questions, the development of proofs of concept, product development or the joint development of intellectual property. The starting point for the projects will be the innovation needs of SMEs, which the hub will then systematically record and bring in start-ups with suitable problem-solving and technology expertise – either via topic-specific calls, so-called innovation challenges, or via proposals from network partners and scouts.

Added value through (and for) Steinbeis

The use of the aforementioned forms of cooperation is intended to give SMEs access to new knowledge and technologies in clearly defined collaborative project contexts and areas of trust. Thanks to the flexible integration of technology expertise from the Steinbeis network, additional know-how can then be brought in. “The key outcomes for start-ups will include early-stage market and technology validation as well as the acquisition of initial pilot partners,” say Peter Schupp and Julian Kahl, providing an outlook. From scouting and matchmaking to the initial exchange of information and support in working on specific innovation projects, the Steinbeis Innovation Hub is planned as a co-innovation partner for SMEs and a companion for transformation processes. The hub initiative is also intended to offer Steinbeis companies the opportunity to get involved with their technology offerings and industrial customers in order to work together to achieve their goals.

Subscribe to the SMT & SCMT GmbH newsletterStay in touch with us and receive all our news.

More NewsDiscover more articles