How Does Corporate Digital Transformation Influence Family Control: Resource Constraint or Governance Enhancement?
Qiuqin He, Alejandro de Vega de Unceta, Miguel Angel Millán Atenciano, Javier Sendra García
Keywords:
DT, Family Control, Resource Constraint, Governance Enhancement
Abstract:
For family firms operating within the digital economy, aligning digital transformation (DT) with governance reform is critical, as this synergy strengthens competitive positioning through improved organizational adaptability. Drawing on resource dependence theory and agency theory, this paper explores how corporate DT shapes family control using a sample of Chinese A-share listed family enterprises from 2008 to 2022. The study reveals the following. (1) corporate DT has a negative effect on family control. Distinguishing between foundational and application-level DT, our results reveal that the depth of underlying digital technology is negatively and significantly correlated with family control, while the coefficient on practical digital applications is statistically insignificant. This finding holds across robustness checks. (2) The analysis of resource constraint effects shows that when family firms are faced with more serious family human capital and financial capital constraints, the negative impact of DT and digital underlying technology on family control is more significant. (3) Evidence regarding the governance-enhancing effect reveals that, among enterprises with greater agency costs, DT mitigates internal information asymmetry and improves internal control quality, which raises families’ willingness to decrease their control intensity. This suggests that enterprise DT negatively affects family control through both resource constraint and governance enhancement effects. This study contributes novel understandings of the consequences of DT in family firms and offers important practical implications for corporate governance.
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 10.7441/joc.2026.03.14
He, Q., de Vega de Unceta, A., Millán Atenciano, M. A., & Sendra García, J. (2026). How does corporate digital transformation influence family control: Resource constraint or governance enhancement? Journal of Competitiveness, 18(3), 414–436. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2026.03.14
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