Abstract

Hidden champions are market leaders in niche markets and are an important part of the German Mittelstand. Although the hidden champion phenomenon has received considerable interest in practice, few academic studies on this issue exist. We especially lack evidence on the financial performance of hidden champions. Our study addresses this gap and investigates the profitability of hidden champions. In analyzing a panel dataset of 4677 German manufacturing firms, of which 617 are hidden champions, we find that hidden champions have significantly higher profitability with regard to return on assets but less so regarding return on equity. The hidden champion performance effect on return on assets is valued at 1.7 percentage points. Furthermore, the hidden champion performance effect decreases with firm size. Our paper contributes to the literature on the effect of firm strategy on firm profitability and adds to a better understanding of the hidden champion phenomenon.

中文翻译：

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隐形冠军的财务表现：来自德国制造企业的证据

摘要

隐形冠军是利基市场的市场领导者，是德国中小型企业的重要组成部分。尽管隐形冠军现象在实践中引起了相当大的兴趣，但关于这个问题的学术研究很少。我们尤其缺乏关于隐形冠军财务表现的证据。我们的研究解决了这一差距并调查了隐形冠军的盈利能力。通过分析 4677 家德国制造企业的面板数据集，其中 617 家是隐形冠军，我们发现隐形冠军在资产回报率方面的盈利能力明显更高，但在股本回报率方面则较低。隐形冠军业绩对资产回报率的影响估值为1.7个百分点。此外，隐形冠军绩效效应随着企业规模的增加而降低。