| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 工業工程學研究所 === 104 === The research focuses on the value chain management by cross-country hidden champions. Case studies have been conducted on companies in different geographic areas (Taiwan, Hong Kong and Germany) which are engaged in different industries (high-technology, international trade and traditional industries) and have different operational styles (listed or unlisted) and core business value (self-branding or acting as regional general agent). In addition to probing their key success factors, the author also compares the difference among these cross-country hidden champions in terms of their core business values, value chain, corporate governance, production-marketing coordination, international human resources management, organizational design, succession plans, as well as the differences of the value consensus between business managers and the family business. Research was also undertaken on the operation styles between the parent company and the overseas offices of these hidden champions, including decentralized management, corporate governance, value chain management, coordination and control systems and international human resources management. The objective of this study is to provide opinions and recommendations based on the findings of cross-country hidden champions, including the key success factors, outstanding business models, best practices, and the critical reasons for the strategic success.
According to the definition provided by Hermann Simon, a German Scholar, in 1992, a hidden champion should meet the following three criteria:
(1) Number one, two, or three in the global market, or number one on the company''s continent.
(2) Revenue below EUR 5 billion
(3) Low level of public awareness.
The theories used in this study are based on the research results of Hermann Simon, in 1992. Reference was also undertaken into the ten key factors and ten conditions of the overall strategic objectives of hidden champions, as well as the ten major definitions, seven features and five key factors of the market leaders. For the purposes of verification and exploration, these have been applied to the three hidden champion of this research, respectively in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Germany. The concepts of “Balanced Score Card” and “HR Score Card” have been applied in the process of analysis and induction, so as to reach a conclusion for the research and provide recommendations accordingly.
The research results suggest that the most contradictory situations or most serious bottlenecks faced by the Taiwanese hidden champions are the conflict between the ownership and the management power of the family business (corporate governance), the organizational design (i.e., the organization of the parent company and the overseas offices), organizational communication (cross-cultural management), and the decentralized management (uncertainty avoidance). It is also found in the research that the hidden champions in Germany and Taiwan have better controlling systems (Operational Process Standardization) than the one in Hong Kong. On the other hand, the hidden champion in Hong Kong outperforms the ones in Taiwan and Germany in organizational communication (cross-cultural management), flexibility, efficiency and innovation. In terms of the decentralized management between ownership and management power, the cross-country hidden champions in Germany show obvious superiority when compared with those in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
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