20.500.12556/RUL-181649 Dynamic capabilities at the digital-succession nexus how family firms navigate dual transformation through three developmental pathways While digital transformation is crucial for the sustainability of family businesses, existing frameworks inade- quately explain how digitalization capabilities develop during succession, particularly in emerging markets. Through a qualitative comparative case study of six Croatian family firms undergoing simultaneous first-time succession and digitalization, this study examines how founder engagement influences the development of dy- namic capabilities (DC). Drawing on DCs framework, this study identified three patterns: (1) actively supportive founders enable comprehensive capabilities (sensing, seizing, and transforming) through structured efforts, facilitating successful transitions (2) traditional control with selective permission (i.e., passive support by founders); yields moderate capabilities for partial adaptation; and (3) founders' resistance, despite successors’ enthusiasm, limits firms to basic sensing. These manifest through three pathways: technological adaptation fosters integrative capabilities, external knowledge integration builds absorptive capacity, and internal devel- opment enhances organizational learning, each shaped by founder-successor dynamics. This research advances theory by revealing how family relationships can override market forces in capability building, thereby chal- lenging assumptions about the inevitability of digital technology. Findings emphasize that success requires aligned intergenerational support, with founder attitudes as critical gatekeepers. The Croatian con- text—characterized by institutional voids and cultural tensions—makes these dynamics particularly visible for emerging economies. family business digitalization artificial intelligence resilience digital transformation succession dynamic capabilities digital intrapreneurship organizational resilience turbulent environments emerging economies Croatia družinsko podjetje digitalizacija umetna inteligenca odpornost true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-04-10 13:29:57 2026-04-10 13:32:29 2026-04-13 04:41:57 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 16 str. article no. ǂ103484 Vol. 152 Apr. 2026 0000-00-00 PostprintKoncna Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 005.3 0166-4972 10.1016/j.technovation.2026.103484 266511619 Mihotic_&_Pfajfar_(2026)_-_Digital_transformation.pdf Mihotic_&_Pfajfar_(2026)_-_Digital_transformation.pdf 1 E2325544045142E86AA3420DF1D996B4 8cc33b66d42bd68df4f6be58684ce19bc4b519e744301c8855793fdb4eb70aa6 aa6cf87d-34d0-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=232296 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166497226000192 0 b2664c76-34d0-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=232297 Ekonomska fakulteta 0 0 0