Jörg Thomä

Dissertation Topic
Researching SMEs. Innovation Protection Practices and Beyond

Brief Description
This doctoral thesis is concerned with research into small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It consists of four essays on the specific roles of smaller firms in the fields of innovation and the business cycle. The first three contributions examine innovation protection practices in SMEs, with a specific focus on the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs). The fourth deals with a hypothesis according to which SMEs stabilize economy-wide output and employment over the business cycle. In each case, a particular emphasis is placed on the policy implications of the results.