The role of the leader’s digital innovativeness on family firm digital innovation activities

PURPOSE: The paper investigates whether the leader’s digital innovativeness is directly and indirectly associated with a family firm’s digital innovation activities. METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted on a sample of Polish family firms. In total, 501 self-declared family businesses that represent the SME sector were completed. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to capture underlying relationships between latent constructs and to verify hypotheses. FINDINGS: The findings indicate that the leader’s digital innovativeness has a significant impact on the digital innovation activities of family firms. However, the achievement of these outcomes depends on the existence of complementary organizational factors, including IT capabilities, employee digital competencies, and a strong digital culture. These results emphasize the interconnected relationship between the leader’s innovativeness and organizational resources in facilitating digital transformation within family businesses. IMPLICATIONS: This research highlights the necessity for family-owned businesses to invest in leadership development programs that foster digital innovativeness, enabling leaders to effectively navigate digital transformation and enhance the company’s overall resilience. Additionally, cultivating a supportive digital culture—through collaboration, advanced digital tools, and an innovation-driven mindset—ensures that the entire organisation aligns with digital transformation goals, ultimately driving long-term competitiveness. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This paper contributes to the literature on family firms by presenting the association between leader’s digital innovativeness and digital innovation activities in family firms. We offer new evidence for the upper echelons theory by demonstrating the impact of the leader’s digital innovativeness on digital innovation activities.