More Than a Feeling -- Conceptualizing Mittelstand Mindset for International Application.

Our world is becoming increasingly volatile, which leads to economic systems having to withstand significantly more crises. In comparison to others, the German economy remains relatively stable in such situations, which can be attributed to its strong Mittelstand, a type of companies featuring long-term orientation and moderate growth. Common Mittelstand definitions refer to the German (research) context and are mainly unsuitable for international research. Research on the German Mittelstand increasingly shows that this type of company is characterized by an entrepreneurial mindset that is probably transferable to other national context. Thus, based on this special mindset, we conceptualize observable characteristics of Mittelstand that allows the identification of Mittelstand-like companies in an international context.Our study follows a qualitative multiple case study approach, to enhance the accuracy and generalizability of the emerging definition approach and provide a testable theory. We use two different data sources: First, 17 relevant research papers on Mittelstand companies were identified and analyzed utilizing a qualitative inductive coding process. Second, case data (based on interviews, websites, and archival data) of 64 potential Mittelstand companies was analyzed in the same way as the scientific articles. This approach allows to identify the Mittelstand mindset and the resulting observable characteristics in an in-depth way. We identify eight characteristics of Mittelstand that emerge from the mindset of those companies, namely owner-management, responsible identity, rurality and regional embeddedness, internationalization, product orientation, service orientation, value orientation and, SME. We enrich the international debate on Mittelstand by developing a framework that applies to the international level. This opens the opportunity for researchers to investigate the (societal) contribution of Mittelstand beyond national borders in Germany and thus entails the opportunity to include those types of companies in the respective political debates, as well into the debate on an entrepreneurial continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]