Meet the Schumpeter ‘Innovation in Enterprise’ Lecturer at the SME Assembly 2025: Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Welter

Each year, the SME Assembly hosts the much-anticipated Schumpeter ‘Innovation in Enterprise’ Lecture, an intellectual cornerstone of the event, inspired by the legacy of economist Joseph Schumpeter. Known for championing innovation, entrepreneurship, and creative destruction as forces of economic renewal, Schumpeter’s vision continues to shape modern enterprise thinking. The lecture is delivered annually by a leading figure in the field whose work embodies these principles.

For the 2025 edition, we are honoured to welcome Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Friederike Welter MAE—a pioneering voice in European entrepreneurship research and policy. Professor Welter is President of the Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn, Germany’s foremost institute for SME research, and Professor of Business Administration at the University of Siegen. A Member of Academia Europaea and an influential advisor to governments and international institutions, she brings a deep understanding of entrepreneurship’s role in society.

Professor Welter’s recent work has explored some of the most pressing challenges facing entrepreneurs today. From examining resilience in the face of polycrisis, including pandemics, climate shocks, war, and digital disruption, to investigating place-based entrepreneurship, transformational scholarship, and the role of SMEs in the circular economy, her research reshapes how we understand innovation, impact, and enterprise in times of uncertainty. She is also a co-author of the landmark 2025 paper “Rooting so We Can Flow”, a manifesto for socially engaged, reflexive, and inclusive entrepreneurship scholarship.

🗓 The Schumpeter 'Innovation in Enterprise' Lecture will take place on 10 November 2025, as part of the SME Assembly hosted in Copenhagen by the Danish Presidency of the EU.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of Europe’s most thoughtful and transformative voices in entrepreneurship.

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