Digitalization in family firms: Current debates and future research directions

Purpose: In the family firm literature studies on the topic of digitalization are increasing. Thus, a need arises to take stock of knowledge and summarize current debates. In addition, given the overlap with innovation, this article provides several points of alignment between the two literatures. Design/methodology/approach: This systematic literature review follows the seminal guidelines of Tranfield et al. (2003) for an analysis of the family firm digitalization literature. The findings include the analysis of 41 articles published between the period 2018-2023, identifying family, firm, and external factors. Findings: The multi-level framework (family, firm, external) is used to frame the factors which influences digitalization in family firms. Originality: The digital transformation pervades societies across the world prompting firms to adapt. The knowledge within this article concerns the most common organizational form in the world, family firms, and summarizes important factors that can influence how they adapt to the digital transformation. Research limitations/implications: Researchers gain from this article two things, the first is an overview of what family firm scholars know about family firm digitalization. The second is a well-structured research agenda, explicating how the family firm innovation literature can be used to support and encourage scholars to advance the topic. Practical implications: For family firm practitioners, it delivers insights of how the family influences the firm’s digitalization efforts. Such insights can help practitioners be more proactive in their management of digitalization in family firms. Social implications: The potential implications of how family firms approach digitalization holds profound social and economic implications.