Corporate Integration Management (CIM) in small and medium companies (SME)
The research paper concentrates on Corporate Integration Management (CIM) in small and medium companies (SME). On the one hand the task consists in reviewing the form and function of the legal norm under Section 84 Subsection 2 of Book IX of the German Social Code (SGB) in terms of labour and social policies. On the other hand a manual-based strategy for implementing CIM shall be developed.
Following the integration of the legally valid CIM concept with the appropriately adapted framework the manual is subjected to an empirical review. By accompanying 42 CIM cases in 10 SMEs it has been possible to show on the basis of partly standardized and open guided interviews with company experts that the introduction and implementation of CIM is markedly enhanced by means of this manual.
The discussion of the theory-guided findings and the empirical results is followed by an outlook. Suggestions for further research are made while the political establishment is called upon to resolve the challenges existing within the scope of the prevention norm and revealed in the research paper thus facilitating an effective transfer of the CIM theory into the practice field.
