Hermann Simon
Encyclopedia
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hermann Simon (born 10 February 1947) is a German author and business leader. He is chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners
, Strategy & Marketing Consultants. Simon is an expert in strategy, marketing
and pricing
. An ongoing online survey (in German language countries) vote him the most influential management thinker after the late Peter Drucker
. Simon has authored numerous books and writes articles for international newspapers and business magazines.
professor
. His books have been translated into 25 languages and are widely read among managers. An ongoing online survey votes him the most influential management thinker after the late Peter Drucker
.
in Mainz, Germany. Simon’s academic career began very early: After completing his studies, he started his Ph.D.
under the supervision of Horst Albach. Professor Albach significantly influenced his professional development, especially regarding the bridge between theory and practice. Between 1978 and 1980 Simon received a post-doctoral scholarship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation)
and was also a visiting fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
during that time. Since then he has been a regular contributor to journals like "Management Science"
, "Harvard Business Review
", "MIT Sloan Management Review
" and Journal of Marketing Research. His academic career led him to numerous guest professorships at international universities: Simon was a visiting professor at the Vienna Institute for Advanced Studies in 1979, at the Keio University in Tokyo
in 1983 and at Stanford University
in 1984. He also taught at INSEAD
in Fontainebleau (1980–1985), at Harvard Business School
(1988–1989) and London Business School
(1991–2002). Between 1984 and 1986, Professor Simon was the head of the European Marketing Academy (EMAC), and between 1985 and 1988 he was the research director of the European School of Management and Technology
(formerly the Universitätsseminar der Wirtschaft, or USW) at the Schloss Gracht in Cologne.
While working as an economics professor, his research largely centered on bridging the gap between theory and practice and his approach to research was empirical and decision-oriented. Numerous theoretical concepts were practically applied in his pioneering projects (calculation of expected market reactions, non-linear pricing, product life cycles, bundling).
During his time as the director at the USW (the largest German institute for management training in the mid-1980s), Simon decided to enter the professional business world. In 1985, he founded the management consultancy UNIC, which later became Simon-Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants, together with his former Ph.D. students, Dr. Eckhard Kucher and Dr. Karl-Heinz Sebastian. In 1995 Professor Simon left his university career to dedicate himself full-time to the consulting business as the chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners.
His consulting firm focuses on strategy, marketing, pricing and sales. Bloomberg BusinessWeek described Simon-Kucher & Partners
as a "world leader in giving advice to companies on how to price their products" and The Economist
wrote: “Simon-Kucher is the world’s leading pricing consultancy”.
Professor Simon has served as the board member for numerous joint-stock companies as well as boards of trustees. His perception of the German corporate landscape draws strongly from this background. He acknowledges the expertise of German companies in technology and products, but asserts that they still show weaknesses in terms of marketing, customer orientation and service. Compared to companies in the USA, German companies perform poorly in terms of market capitalization
. Consequently, Professor Simon sees a great danger of German companies being “colonized”.
. Simon’s most well-known publications include Think (2004), Power Pricing (1997), Hidden Champions (1996), Hidden Champions of the 21st Century (2009) and Preismanagement (3rd edition 2009). Additional publications include Das große Handbuch der Strategieinstrumente (2002), Das große Handbuch der Strategiekonzepte (2000) and Simon for Managers (2000). Professor Simon has coined a number of phrases which are commonly used in management theory and practice, including “price management”, “hidden champions”
, “Servicewüste” and “investor marketing”. Since 1988, Simon has regularly authored a column for the German monthly Manager Magazin. In addition, he is a member of the editorial boards of numerous business journals, including the International Journal of Research in Marketing, Management Science
, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, Décisions Marketing, European Management Journal
as well as several German journals.
. Their last scheduled meeting, however, never took place. It was scheduled for November 12, 2005 ─ the day before Drucker died.
Very politically active as a student, Simon is now more critical of politicians. He believes they do not have the necessary competence, particularly concerning economic issues. Furthermore, he deplores the lack of communication between economists and politicians. Simon feels very connected with his place of birth, the Eifel region
, and has published the book Kinder der Eifel in 2008.
Simon-Kucher & Partners
Simon-Kucher & Partners, Strategy & Marketing Consultants is a management consulting firm founded in 1985 by Hermann Simon, Eckhard Kucher and Karl-Heinz Sebastian. It provides strategy, marketing and pricing advice to clients across sectors and geographies...
, Strategy & Marketing Consultants. Simon is an expert in strategy, marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and pricing
Pricing
Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Pricing factors are manufacturing cost, market place, competition, market condition, and quality of product. Pricing is also a key variable in microeconomic price allocation theory. Pricing is a...
. An ongoing online survey (in German language countries) vote him the most influential management thinker after the late Peter Drucker
Peter Drucker
Peter Ferdinand Drucker was an influential writer, management consultant, and self-described “social ecologist.”-Introduction:...
. Simon has authored numerous books and writes articles for international newspapers and business magazines.
Short Biography
- 1947 Born in Hasborn/Eifel, Germany
- 1966 High School leaving A-levels certificate, Cusanus High School, Wittlich
- 1967-1969 German Air Force, fighter bomber squadron 33, reserve officer
- 1969-1973 Studies of economics and business administration in Cologne and Bonn
- 1974-1979 Ph.D. and qualification as a university professor under Horst Albach in Bonn
- 1979-1989 Professor at the University of Bielefeld
- 1989-1995 Professor at the University of Mainz
- 1983-2002 Various guest professorships and visiting researcher positions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1978/79), Vienna Institute for Advanced Studies (1979), Keio University in Tokyo (1983), Stanford University (1984), INSEAD in Fontainebleau (1980–1985), Harvard Business School (1988/89), London Business School (1991–2002)
- 1985-1988 Director, USW The German Management Institute, Schloss Gracht/Cologne
- 1985 Founded the company Simon - Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants
- 1995-2009 CEO of Simon - Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants
- Since 2009 Chairman of Simon - Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants
Business Professor, Management Consultant and Author
Hermann Simon’s career has followed three paths: as a management consultant, as an author and as a businessBusiness
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. His books have been translated into 25 languages and are widely read among managers. An ongoing online survey votes him the most influential management thinker after the late Peter Drucker
Peter Drucker
Peter Ferdinand Drucker was an influential writer, management consultant, and self-described “social ecologist.”-Introduction:...
.
Business Professor
Hermann Simon is also a professor of business and has worked extensively in the field of marketing. Until 1995 he was a professor of business administration and marketing at the Johannes-Gutenberg UniversityJohannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
The Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz is a university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg. With approximately 36,000 students in about 150 schools and clinics, it is among the ten largest universities in Germany...
in Mainz, Germany. Simon’s academic career began very early: After completing his studies, he started his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
under the supervision of Horst Albach. Professor Albach significantly influenced his professional development, especially regarding the bridge between theory and practice. Between 1978 and 1980 Simon received a post-doctoral scholarship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...
and was also a visiting fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
during that time. Since then he has been a regular contributor to journals like "Management Science"
Management Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Management Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the techniques of operations research and scientific approaches to problems of management, marketing, manufacturing, and related fields...
, "Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review is a general management magazine published since 1922 by Harvard Business School Publishing, owned by the Harvard Business School. A monthly research-based magazine written for business practitioners, it claims a high ranking business readership among academics, executives,...
", "MIT Sloan Management Review
MIT Sloan Management Review
MIT Sloan Management Review is a web site and magazine focused on the management of innovation. Published at the MIT Sloan School of Management, MIT Sloan Management Review’s mission is to lead the conversation among thinkers, professors, and managers about the coming sea changes in management...
" and Journal of Marketing Research. His academic career led him to numerous guest professorships at international universities: Simon was a visiting professor at the Vienna Institute for Advanced Studies in 1979, at the Keio University in Tokyo
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
in 1983 and at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1984. He also taught at INSEAD
INSEAD
INSEAD is an international graduate business school and research institution. It has campuses in Europe , Asia , and the Middle East , as well as a research center in Israel...
in Fontainebleau (1980–1985), at Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
(1988–1989) and London Business School
London Business School
London Business School is an international business school and a constituent college of the federal University of London, located in central London, beside Regent's Park...
(1991–2002). Between 1984 and 1986, Professor Simon was the head of the European Marketing Academy (EMAC), and between 1985 and 1988 he was the research director of the European School of Management and Technology
European School of Management and Technology
ESMT European School of Management and Technology is a private university located in Berlin, Germany.ESMT European School of Management and Technology is an international non-profit business school based in Berlin with an additional location in Schloss Gracht near Cologne. The School was founded by...
(formerly the Universitätsseminar der Wirtschaft, or USW) at the Schloss Gracht in Cologne.
While working as an economics professor, his research largely centered on bridging the gap between theory and practice and his approach to research was empirical and decision-oriented. Numerous theoretical concepts were practically applied in his pioneering projects (calculation of expected market reactions, non-linear pricing, product life cycles, bundling).
During his time as the director at the USW (the largest German institute for management training in the mid-1980s), Simon decided to enter the professional business world. In 1985, he founded the management consultancy UNIC, which later became Simon-Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants, together with his former Ph.D. students, Dr. Eckhard Kucher and Dr. Karl-Heinz Sebastian. In 1995 Professor Simon left his university career to dedicate himself full-time to the consulting business as the chairman of Simon-Kucher & Partners.
Management Consultant
Hermann Simon was CEO of Simon-Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultant|Consultants since 1995. The company employs 500 professionals and operates worldwide with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Bonn, Boston, Brussels, Cologne, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich.His consulting firm focuses on strategy, marketing, pricing and sales. Bloomberg BusinessWeek described Simon-Kucher & Partners
Simon-Kucher & Partners
Simon-Kucher & Partners, Strategy & Marketing Consultants is a management consulting firm founded in 1985 by Hermann Simon, Eckhard Kucher and Karl-Heinz Sebastian. It provides strategy, marketing and pricing advice to clients across sectors and geographies...
as a "world leader in giving advice to companies on how to price their products" and The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
wrote: “Simon-Kucher is the world’s leading pricing consultancy”.
Professor Simon has served as the board member for numerous joint-stock companies as well as boards of trustees. His perception of the German corporate landscape draws strongly from this background. He acknowledges the expertise of German companies in technology and products, but asserts that they still show weaknesses in terms of marketing, customer orientation and service. Compared to companies in the USA, German companies perform poorly in terms of market capitalization
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
. Consequently, Professor Simon sees a great danger of German companies being “colonized”.
Author
Hermann Simon’s books are widely read among managers and have been translated into 25 languages. In March 2011, Professor Simon and co-author Martin Fassnacht were awarded the 2010 Georg-Bergler-Prize for Preismanagement. Carrying with it a €20000 prize, the Georg-Bergler-Prize is the most highly endowed award for European marketing textbooks. In 2006, Simon published Manage for Profit, Not for Market Share, which takes a critical look at the widespread focus on volume and market share and calls for a conscious shift of focus towards profitProfit (economics)
In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total opportunity costs of a venture to an entrepreneur or investor, whilst economic profit In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total...
. Simon’s most well-known publications include Think (2004), Power Pricing (1997), Hidden Champions (1996), Hidden Champions of the 21st Century (2009) and Preismanagement (3rd edition 2009). Additional publications include Das große Handbuch der Strategieinstrumente (2002), Das große Handbuch der Strategiekonzepte (2000) and Simon for Managers (2000). Professor Simon has coined a number of phrases which are commonly used in management theory and practice, including “price management”, “hidden champions”
Hidden Champions
Smaller but highly successful companies, concealed behind a curtain of inconspicuousness, invisibility and sometimes secrecy are called Hidden Champions. The name Hidden Champion was coined by Theodore Levitt, who used it first in a discussion with Hermann Simon. Simon later on was the first to use...
, “Servicewüste” and “investor marketing”. Since 1988, Simon has regularly authored a column for the German monthly Manager Magazin. In addition, he is a member of the editorial boards of numerous business journals, including the International Journal of Research in Marketing, Management Science
Management Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
Management Science: A Journal of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the techniques of operations research and scientific approaches to problems of management, marketing, manufacturing, and related fields...
, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, Décisions Marketing, European Management Journal
European Journal of International Management
The European Journal of International Management is a collaborative, scholarly, and peer-reviewed academic journal dealing with issues ranging from international business and management.It is indexed in Scopus and Web of Science....
as well as several German journals.
Miscellaneous
Professor Simon was greatly influenced by his long-time friend Peter Drucker, with whom he corresponded for many years and whom he often visited at his home near Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Their last scheduled meeting, however, never took place. It was scheduled for November 12, 2005 ─ the day before Drucker died.
Very politically active as a student, Simon is now more critical of politicians. He believes they do not have the necessary competence, particularly concerning economic issues. Furthermore, he deplores the lack of communication between economists and politicians. Simon feels very connected with his place of birth, the Eifel region
Eifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....
, and has published the book Kinder der Eifel in 2008.