Industrial districts have undergone dramatic changes in recent decades, also due to the emergence of disruptive digital technologies connected to Industry 4.0. Although firms belonging to industrial districts share a particular and homogeneous context, know-how, and collection of behaviors, certain firms have different features.
For instance, in a recent study, using survey results from Italian companies based in the Marshallian Industrial Districts, we analyzed whether district family businesses are more likely to embrace Industry 4.0 technologies than non-family business counterparts.
Our results suggest that family businesses are more likely to embrace Industry 4.0 technologies. As a result, relative to non-family peers, family businesses are well-positioned to compete in the latest technology wave, playing a key role in the transition of the Marshallian Industrial Districts.