Family firms' digital transformation: pathways and tensions

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Bouncken, Ricarda B. ; Covin, Jeffrey G. ; Schmitt, Florian:
Family firms' digital transformation: pathways and tensions.
In: Small Business Economics. (13 November 2025) .
ISSN 1573-0913
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-025-01146-8

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Abstract

How do family firms navigate digital transformation? Drawing on 25 interviews across ten cases (2018–2024), we identify three tension fields that shape the scale and pace of digitalization: internal development vs. external sourcing, reliance on trusted partners vs. opening new ties, and the diffusion of family control. We theorize five propositions showing how familiness conditions collaboration strategies, risk posture, and implementation speed. Long-term orientation and strong ties enable committed, tailored investments, yet can narrow openness to novel external knowledge; selective boundary opening mitigates this trade-off. Our model integrates socioemotional wealth with digital innovation, clarifying when familial control supports or suppresses experimentation and how learning unfolds over time. We outline implications for entrepreneurs, educators, and policy. The paper contributes to research on family-business digitalization and offers actionable guidance for designing balanced transformation pathways.