This book presents the success stories of "Hidden Champions"-companies leading niche markets in Africa, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Though relatively unknown, these firms influence global industries through agility, customer focus, and expertise. Based on extensive research, the book explores leadership, financial resilience, digital transformation, and sustainability strategies enabling these companies to thrive in challenging environments. With insights from over 70 case studies across 30 countries, it examines responses to global shocks like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, showing how adversity can be turned into opportunity. Hidden Champions in Rising Economies: The Undiscovered Roads To The Future provides practical lessons for policymakers, business leaders, and researchers interested in resilience, innovation, and growth in emerging economies.
Introduction.- Research methodology.- Common lessons learned from hidden champions.- The leadership of Hidden Champions: The Strategic Focus of Start-ups, Scale-ups and Grown-ups.- Finance and regulatory environment needs of hidden champions.- Employees are the Champions-Human Resource Management in Hidden Champion Companies.- IT innovations of Hidden Champions and Data-Driven Decision Making: The Competitive Edge of Hidden Champions.- Sustainability principles of hidden champions: How hidden champions build their success on the application of sustainability principles .- Strategic Entrepreneurship in Global Business Environments: A Comparative Framework of Hidden Champions.- Albania.- Armenia.- Azerbaijan.- Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Bulgaria.- China.- Croatia.- Estonia.- Georgia.- Hungary.- India.- Kazakhstan.- Kosovo.- Latvia.- Lithuania.- Nigeria.- North Macedonia.- Moldova.- Mongolia.- Montenegro.- Morocco.- Poland.- Romania.- Serbia.- Slovak Republic.- Slovenia.- Türkiye.- Ukraine.- Uzbekistan.- Zambia.
Danica Purg is the Founder and Dean of IEDC-Bled School of Management in Slovenia and the President of CEEMAN. She is an award-winning leadership expert who integrates arts into management education and is a sought-after speaker. She holds several honorary doctorates and has authored influential books and articles on leadership and management.
Denis Berberovic is an Associate Professor and member of the Marketing department at the School of Economics and Business, University of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His expertise lies in qualitative methodology. He serves as the President of the Scientific Council to the Federal Ministry of Education and Science in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
