Entrepreneurship and Public Policy

Research Profile

Public policy continues to be an important determinant of economic and societal development, among others, so long as institutions and policy-makers interfere to shape the market economy. During the last few decades all levels of government at the federal, regional and municipal level have become key players in the promotion of a so-called entrepreneurial economy (read more about it here). The re-emergence of entrepreneurship and the shift from a market economy to an entrepreneurial economy accelerated due to an increased globalization and pressing challenges (e.g., climate change, pandemics) that has led to the development of new entrepreneurship policies implemented at all levels of government and governance.

Change, creativity and innovation became the drivers of the so-called entrepreneurial economy which is, among others, characterized as having a high degree of turbulence. This change from the market to the entrepreneurial economy had a deep impact on the policy-making process: Policy-makers face the challenge of having to develop new entrepreneurship policies to ensure sustainable and resilient development within their places, regions and nations. Policy-makers do meanwhile acknowledge the importance of entrepreneurship and micro-financing for sustainable, bottom-up development (read more here).

Our research focus goes beyond these rather traditional paradigms of considerations reflecting and taking into account the varieties of entrepreneurship policies and policy-making including digital, social, sustainable, institutional, administrative, public and other forms of entrepreneurship (read more here). Such investigations, research and activities allow us to think out of the box and develop innovative forms of governance including state-societal co-collaboration. This discussion has been triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and lies at the core heart of our research. And they do have an impact on public administration and public management in the future assessed by our School and partner organizations.

Publications

• Aly, M., Grimm, H. M., & Audretsch, D. (2025). Impact of cultural values and practices on entrepreneurial behavior: Bibliometric Literature Review. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1108/jepp-08-2024-0131
• Appiah, P. B., & Grimm, H. (2025). Landscape of social innovation research in the Global South: Trends and implications for future research. Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy. doi.org/10.1108/jepp-07-2024-0111
• Grimm, H.M., Jimenez, J.C., Ceesay, L.O. & Wondirad.M (2023). Lessons Not (Yet) Learned: What African Countries Could Teach the Global North about One Health during the Pandemics. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 25(5), 487–505.
• Leboukh, F., Aduku, E., Ali, O. (2023). Balancing ChatGPT and Data Protection in Germany: Challenges and Opportunities for Policy Makers. Journal of Politics and Ethics in New Technologies and AI.
• Grimm, H. M. & Bock, C. (2022). Entrepreneurship in Public Administration and Public Policy Programs in Germany and the United States. Teaching Public Administration.
• Aly, M., Audretsch, D. B., & Grimm, H. M. (2021). Emotional skills for entrepreneurial success: The promise of entrepreneurship education and policy. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 46(5), 1611–1629.
• Grimm, H. M. (2019). Entrepreneurship in Public Policy Education: The Willy Brandt School as a Case. In E. E. Lehmann & M. Keilbach (Eds.), From Industrial Organization to Entrepreneurship: A Tribute to David B. Audretsch (pp. 369–384). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
• Grimm, H. M. (2019). Public and Policy Entrepreneurship Research: A Synthesis of the Literature and Future Perspectives. In D. Audretsch, E. Lehmann, & A. Link (Eds.), A Research Agenda for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (pp. 91–106). Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Grimm, H. M. (2019). Public Policy Research in the Global South. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06061-9
• Grimm, H. M., & Jimenez, J. C. (2021). Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Comparative Policy Analysis. Review. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 1–2.
• Grimm, H. M., & Roßner, E. (2019). Qualifikationen, Ausbildung und Professional Schools in der Politikberatung. In S. Falk, M. Glaab, A. Römmele, H. Schober, & M. Thunert (Eds.), Handbuch Politikberatung (pp. 609–623). Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.
• Arib, E. (2018), Policy, SDGs and Fighting Corruption for the People: A Civil Society Report on Afghanistan’s Sustainable Development Goals, Transparency International, Berlin.