Hidden Champions (HCs) are firms unknown to the wider public, but global leaders in the niche markets they serve. This paper looks at distinctive features of these firms, focusing on their dynamic capabilities. Employing a unique data base on German firms, we identify a representative sample of...

Innovativen Unternehmen, insbesondere kleinen und mittelgroßen Betrieben (KMU) wird eine Schlüsselposition für den technischen Fortschritt und die internationale Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Industrienationen zugewiesen. Die Fähigkeit, neues Wissen zu generieren und in marktfähige Produkte,...

Hidden Champions (HCs) are small- and medium-sized global market leaders that repeatedly show superior innovation capabilities and economic performance. However, empirical evidence on how the digital transformation may affect their success story remains scarce. I argue that HCs show stronger...

Hidden Champions (HCs) are defined as market leaders in niche markets. They represent the success of the German Mittelstand like no other group of firms. However, little is known on how HCs contribute to regional development. Given their export strength, regional embeddedness, and strong...

This article studies the integration of Hidden Champions - little-known highly innovative global market leaders - in rural regional innovation systems (RIS) in Germany. These firms are analyzed in relation to their integration into a RIS framework, which differentiates two subsystems: knowledge...