Digital Transformation in Family Businesses: An Analysis of Drivers with fsQCA

José António Ferreira Porfírio (), Pedro Santos and Ricardo M. Rodrigues
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José António Ferreira Porfírio: Departamento de Ciências Sociais e de Gestão, Universidade Aberta, Rua da Escola Politécnica, n.º 147, 1269-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Pedro Santos: Departamento de Ciências Sociais e de Gestão, Universidade Aberta, Rua da Escola Politécnica, n.º 147, 1269-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Ricardo M. Rodrigues: ISEG—Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua do Quelhas, n.º 6, 1200-781 Lisboa, Portugal

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: The digital transformation (DT) encompasses profound technological changes. Businesses face the challenge of adapting their activities to the pace of new technologies to increase the efficiency of business processes, improve the customer experience, and create innovative value propositions while recognizing the importance of sustainability. This research focuses on how family businesses, which are a relevant part of global economic activity and job creation, address the challenges associated with the DT. Based on the case of the automotive retail sector in a small European country characterized by the high acceptance of technologies, we use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to understand how critical success factors (causal conditions) combine towards adopting technologies representing different perspectives of the DT. The results confirm the existence of multiple configurations based on the importance of organizational culture, change management, knowledge, human capital, IT systems, and DT strategy towards the adoption of customer relationship management, digital marketing, and social networks technologies, thus helping family businesses to understand the adoption of these technologies leading to organizational success in the context of the DT.

Keywords: family firms; family businesses; fsQCA; digital transformation; digitalization; digitization; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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