This book represents the culmination of a truly global and collaborative research journey. Our sincere thanks go to the two editors, Denis Berberović and Danica Purg, whose vision, academic leadership, and perseverance made this ambitious project possible.
We are deeply grateful to the 85 researchers from 30 countries who contributed their local expertise and scholarly insight, and to the 70 Hidden Champion companies that generously opened their doors, shared their experiences, and trusted us with their stories. Without their openness and engagement, this book would not exist.
Our appreciation also goes to the teams at Springer and to all colleagues working behind the scenes, as well as to the coordinating institutions, CEEMAN and IEDC-Bled School of Management, whose commitment ensured scientific rigor, editorial coherence, and smooth collaboration across regions and time zones.
We are especially honored to acknowledge Hermann Simon, who not only introduced the Hidden Champions concept nearly three decades ago, but also inspired this research and contributed the foreword to the book. As he notes, “success is not about size, but about focus – not about public attention, but about excellence.” This idea has guided our work from the very beginning and continues to resonate strongly across rising economies.
This publication builds on an exciting and demanding journey, and it is far from the end. Further discussions, events, and initiatives are planned to celebrate the success of this research and to continue advancing the global conversation on Hidden Champions.
We warmly invite you to stay tuned as we take the next steps together.
The book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-08263-3