Digital Alignment in Family Firms: The Role of Socioemotional Wealth Priorities and Transformational Leadership

Abstract

We examine the antecedents of digital alignment (DA); specifically, the coherence between digital initiatives, IT capabilities, and strategic objectives in family firms. Drawing on insights from IT-business alignment and the socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspective, we theorize that family goals differentially shape alignment outcomes: restricted SEW (emphasizing family control and influence) discourages alignment, whereas extended SEW (encompassing family identification and emotional attachment) encourages it. We further posit that transformational leadership acts as a boundary condition that channels family goals into coordinated digital business fit. Using cross-sectional survey data from family enterprises and structural equation modeling, our results indicate that control and influence are negatively associated with digital alignment, while identification and emotional attachment are positively associated. Transformational leadership attenuates the negative effects of control and influence and amplifies the positive effect of identification; unexpectedly, it tempers the positive association with emotional attachment. Together, family goals and leadership explain a substantial proportion of the variance in DA. The study advances alignment research by identifying SEW-based antecedents and a leadership contingency within the family-firm context. For practice, it suggests diagnosing the prevailing family goals and developing leadership that pairs inspiration with integration to ensure that digital initiatives remain strategically aligned.