Bled and Berlin, 7 May 2021 - The concept of »Hidden champions« was first defined and studied by Prof. Hermann Simon, a world-renowned expert in strategy, marketing and pricing, who is considered the most influential thinker in the German-speaking world after Peter Drucker.

The »Hidden Champions« are highly innovative and specialized small and medium-sized companies, which are also leaders in their niches internationally. In 2011, a survey prepared by IEDC and CEEMAN found that Slovenia had the highest number of Hidden Champions per million inhabitants (followed by Estonia). The same was shown in the continuation of the survey conducted by IEDC and CEEMAN in 2018 and 2019. The novelty of this survey was that it was extended to other CEE and SEE countries and China and Mongolia, a total of 22 countries. The results of the first survey were published in a book in 2013, while the second book was published this week.

The survey, conducted in 2018 and 2019, was conducted by 66 researchers who studied 304 companies and identified 105 Hidden champions among them. Of these, 45 companies are "old" and 60 are "new" compared to 2011. More than 40 companies are expected to become the Hidden champions in the coming years.

The book, Hidden Champions and Dynamically Changing Societies: Critical Success Factors for Market Leadership, published by Springer identifies the development needs of hidden champions in terms of management, financing and the regulatory environment, features a unique selection of business and entrepreneurial experiences from diverse companies and countries and highlights the competitive advantages and core lessons learned on the path to success of highly successful SMEs.