CEEMAN supports research efforts and initiatives of its members and partners, including through creation of research consortia, partnerships, serving as a platform for coordination of research efforts. In addition, it offers capabilities and skills development programs for research and publishing, such as IMTA Modules on Educational Material Development.
CEEMAN and its member institutions have carried out a number of international research projects of relevance to management education. The findings, conclusions and recommendations of CEEMAN research have been presented and discussed at various national and international seminars and conferences.
Hidden Champions
Back in 2011 CEEMAN launched an elaborate research project comprising 15 research teams that worked with over 130 companies across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Turkey. The teams have studied Hidden Champions – small and medium-sized companies that have a low visibility profile in the public domain, yet which occupy top positions in the world markets as measured by market share. The results of the study were published in 2013 in a book titled “Hidden Champions in CEE and Turkey: Carving Out a Global Niche”.
In 2018 CEEMAN returned to the topic of the Hidden Champions and a new, more ambitious study was launched: “Hidden Champions in Dynamically Changing Societies and their Management and Leadership Development Needs”. The new project runs across 24 countries, with 24 international research teams participating in it. Present Hidden Champions in CESEE, Turkey and Russia are being identified and described. Common characteristics, best practices, main success factors, as well as the management and development needs of the Hidden Champions will be assessed and shared. A report is to be published in late 2018 and a book – in 2019-2020.
The project is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and coordinated by IEDC-Bled School of Management, Postgraduate Studies and CEEMAN, the International Association for Management Development in Dynamic Societies.
Now, in 2022, under the umbrella of the Alliance of Management Development Associations in Rising Economies, in which CEEMAN is at the moment in lead position, a global research on hidden champions is launched! The research will include countries of Central and Eastern Europe, South America, Africa and Asia! The research will provide essential insights into the critical drivers of success, market leadership positions, competitive advantage, and core lessons learned on the road to business prosperity. It will also address development needs in connection with management, financing and the regulatory environment. From this, recommendations will be made to various stakeholders (e.g. governments, financial institutions, management development institutions) to support hidden champions, as well as other companies, in their continued growth and business success.
Research project on Management Development Needs in Dynamic Societies
In 2018, CEEMAN and its numerous partner institutions successfully completed their research project on
Management Development Needs in Dynamic Societies. The aim of the project, which was partially sponsored by EQUAL-European Quality Link, was to collect insights into the business challenges faced by companies and their respective management and leadership development needs, as well as to analyze their experience with education providers and offerings so far.
More than 30 research partners from 19 countries (Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Ukraine) took part in the research, conducting and analyzing more than 200 interviews with CEOs and HR managers from their respective countries. Moreover, the study aimed at understanding what the missing links between management education and the corporate world are in order to develop recommendations that would help in strengthening existing partnerships (or establishing new ones) between management education institutions and businesses.
A major milestone of this research endeavor was the publication of the cross-country report as well as several country studies as a book entitled Business and Society: Making Management Education Relevant for the 21st Century edited by Prof. Danica Purg, Dr. Alenka Braček Lalić and Dr. Jennifer Pope published by Springer in July 2018. As is the case with the initial research project, the publication seeks to encourage management education institutions to start monitoring the needs of their respective stakeholders and to provide relevant management education and research.
Read more about Business and Society: Making Management Education Relevant for the 21st Century or order it online.
Reports from previous CEEMAN research projects: