Liu Z.、周江华（共同第一作者，通讯作者）、Li J.，“How do family firms respond strategically to the digital transformation trend: Disclosing symbolic cues or making substantive changes?”, Journal of Business Research (ABS 3, Impact Factor:11.3, JCR Q1), Volume 155, Part A, published in January 2023, 113395, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113395

   Abstract: Digital transformation is one of the major trends changing society and business. Incumbent firms respond strategically to the digital transformation trend in different forms. The results on Chinese listed companies demonstrated that, as family firms have stronger needs for legitimacy, and are sensitive to invest in uncertain projects, they, compared with their nonfamily counterparts, are more likely to disclose more symbolic cues about digital transformation, whereas invest less substantively on digital transformation, that is, emphasizing digital transformation in their annual reports to a greater extent while making fewer digital investments. Furthermore, we also investigated firm-level and provincial-level contingencies. Specifically, we show that, family firms located in provinces with better digital infrastructure are more likely to disclose more symbolic cues about digital transformation and invest more substantively in digital transformation. Family firms that have completed the intergenerational succession process are more likely to disclose more symbolic cues about digital transformation.