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Family Ownership and Digital Transformation: The Role of Family Formal Business Networks and Next-Generation Dispersion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 November 2025
Abstract
Digital transformation presents a crucial strategic imperative for family businesses seeking to maintain competitiveness and long-term viability. The academic literature reveals divergent perspectives on how family businesses approach digital transformation initiatives. This study adopts a socioemotional wealth perspective to examine the relationship between family ownership and digital transformation. The research specifically investigates how family formal business networks and next-generation dispersion moderate this relationship. Analysis of panel data from Chinese listed family firms between 2016 and 2020 reveals that family ownership negatively influences digital transformation efforts. However, this negative effect diminishes when family firms participate in formal business networks or involve multiple next-generation members in leadership positions. These findings yield important theoretical contributions regarding the intricate relationships between family dynamics and technological advancement. The research also provides practical insights for family business leaders navigating digital transformation challenges. This study advances understanding of how different dimensions of socioemotional wealth shape family firms’ strategic responses to technological change.
摘要
数字化转型是家族企业维持竞争力和长期生存能力的关键战略要务。学术文献对家族企业如何开展数字化转型举措存在不同观点。本研究采用社会情感财富视角,考察家族所有权与数字化转型之间的关系,具体探究家族正式商业网络和下一代分散化如何调节这一关系。对2016至2020年间中国上市家族企业面板数据的分析表明,家族所有权对数字化转型努力具有负向影响。然而,当家族企业参与正式商业网络或让多名下一代成员担任领导职位时,这种负向效应会减弱。这些发现为家族动态与技术进步之间的复杂关系提供了重要理论贡献,也为应对数字化转型挑战的家族企业领导者提供了实践洞见。本研究深化了对社会情感财富不同维度如何塑造家族企业对技术变革战略响应的理解。
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- © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Association for Chinese Management Research.
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