Human determinants influencing the digital transformation strategy of multigenerational family businesses: a multiple-case study of five French growth-oriented family firms

Abstract

PurposeIn a context of technological disruption, companies face a digital imperative to adopt successfully emerging new technologies. While family firms have a huge potential for growth and innovation, they may – due to idiosyncratic but often limited resources, have to address the complex challenges induced by digital technologies introduction. The purpose of this paper is to explore how human and cultural resources influence the formulation and implementation of five French family firms' digital strategy.Design/methodology/approachBased on a phenomenological epistemology, semi-structured interviews among different generational cohorts of family business owners.FindingsThe thematic analysis highlights five main cultural and psychological determinants holding the potential for positive and synergetic outcomes while implementing a digital strategy: the change management nurtured by long-term sustainability, the emotional attachment to the firm, the entrepreneurial legacy influence, the personalised involvement of individual family members and the family owners' central focus on employees.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first research projects exploring the digital transformation process of family businesses from the perspective of the firm's human capital. The participants of the study reveal idiosyncratic attitudes such as long-term orientation, entrepreneurial bridging and non-economic goals leading to competitive advantages and transgenerational wealth creation.

Digital Adoption in The Family Business: A State-of-the-art Review

“…(Basly and Hammouda, 2020). There are studies regarding this topic across many countries, including French (Ano and Bent, 2021), Germany (Brenk et al, 2019;Pöschl and Freiling, 2020;Dressler and Paunovic, 2021;Pollák and Markovič, 2021;Rondi, De Massis and Kraus, 2021;Soluk and Kammerlander, 2021), India (Chatterjee, Chaudhuri and Vrontis, 2021), Japan (Chung, Chang and Kitamura, 2021), Pakistan (Rashid and Ratten, 2020), and other European countries. Most research is conducted in Europe and investigates the wineries from many perspectives.…”

“…The objective itself varies among the twelve works of literature. Ano and Bent (2021) explored the human factors in digital strategy implementation. Rashid and Ratten (2020) and Soluk and Kammerlander (2021) employed dynamic capabilities to investigate the family business and so on.…”

Examining the role of gender on family business entrepreneurial intention: influence of government support and technology usage

“…, 2004; Anderson and Reeb, 2003; Akter et al. , 2022; Ano and Bent, 2021). Finally, the items of entrepreneurial intention in family business firms were prepared from different prior studies (Powell and Ansic, 1997; Sonfield and Lussier, 2009; Nouri and Ahmadi Kafeshani, 2020).…”

“…In the dynamic business environments, for gaining competitive advantage, all the enterprises including the family business enterprises must depend on the use of modern digital technologies Akter et al, 2022;Ano and Bent, 2021). But, to what extent a family business enterprise would intend to utilize the technology for contemplated benefits depends also on the gender issue, that is, if the family business enterprise is owned by the female, and if it is owned by the male, the attitudes of usage of such digital technology may be different (Sonfield and Lussier, 2009).…”

“…Instruments for government support was prepared with the help of different sources (Sonfield et al, 2001;Xu et al, 2014;Wei and Liu, 2015;Peterson and Altounian, 2019;Faroque et al, 2022). The items related with technology usages were prepared from different literature (Wilson et al, 2004;Akter et al, 2022;Ano and Bent, 2021). Finally, the items of entrepreneurial intention in family business firms were prepared from different prior studies (Powell and Ansic, 1997;Sonfield and Lussier, 2009;Nouri and Ahmadi Kafeshani, 2020).…”