Power, Reputation, and Dynastic Commitment: How Socioemotional Wealth Dimensions Reshape Strategic Emphasis on Emerging IT in Family Firms

This study advances the theory of strategic emphasis on emerging IT in family firms by examining the multidimensional mechanisms associated with Socioemotional Wealth (SEW). Leveraging a dataset of 2,053 Chinese listed firms from 2012 to 2020, we employ computational text analysis (LIWC) and propensity score matching (PSM) to examine the associations of SEW’s five dimensions. Fixed-effects models indicate a dual pattern: ownership concentration (Control dimension) correlates with negative moderating effects on strategic emphasis on emerging IT, whereas Family Identification, Binding Social Ties, and Renewal of Family Bonds through Dynastic Succession correlate with positive moderating effects. The Emotional Attachment dimension exhibits no significant correlation. This research contributes to the literature three ways: (1) providing novel empirical evidence from the Chinese context on SEW’s paradoxical effects in disclosed strategic emphasis on emerging IT; (2) developing a text-based operationalization framework for SEW dimensions; and (3) reconceptualizing family firm emphasis theory within China’s digital transformation context.