Firm size, i.e. being classified as an SME, is just one among multiple key salient characteristics"   Due to the broad set of values which define the Mittelstand, Venohr, Fear & Witt (2015) divide Germany's 'business landscape' into three distinct categories of Mittelstand firms. This pyramid shows that over 99% of German firms are Mittelstand firms but 0.34 depart from the classic small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) definition. The two categories of 'classic' and 'upper' Mittelstand firms in Germany account for 68% of Germany's exports. In comparison, Germany's larger corporations generate 32% of Germany's exports. The 'upper'-sized Mittelstand firms (revenues between 50 million EUR and 1 billion EUR) form a unique and distinctive group, as they are the most export-orientated group of firms in Germany's business landscape contributing significantly to Germany's sustained export success. As such, "Mittelstand firms clearly form" "the backbone of the German economy""." The Mittelstand is not a rigid economic entity. On the contrary, Germany's liberal economic order, which is also subject to international competition, is constantly leading to structural changes which in turn influence the composition and characteristics of the corporate landscape. In the past several years, an increase of very small units can be observed: the so-called "solo self-employed". These are business start-ups that are not designed to grow into a small or larger business over time. Instead, such entrepreneurs will act permanently as individuals. New forms of cooperation ("changing networks") have also emerged in the recent past. Depending on the project requirements, teams of independent agents form, each contributing their own specific skills and competences, and thus work together efficiently. However, these entrepreneurs usually do not feel like they apply to the term "Mittelstand", as do start-ups that have not been on the market for at least three years. On the other hand, the affinity of small and medium-sized enterprises for one another increases with company size and age; the older and larger the companies, the more they identify themselves as small and medium-sized enterprises. However, among those companies that consider themselves to be medium-sized, according to the IfM Bonn (Institute for Management in Bonn) definition, one in seven is no longer included because they no longer fulfill the criterion of "ownership and management in one hand". As a result of continuing globalization and worldwide corporations, SMEs in Germany were increasingly under competitive pressure.