Dr. Evelyn Micelotta guided West Michigan family business organizations through an interactive session exploring how they perceive their organization’s approach to the adoption of technology.
Posted May 11, 2026
There is no shortage of noise and information today about how AI will reshape business.
From the rise of automation and computerization to the advent of cloud systems and digital platforms, family enterprises have consistently balanced innovation with family legacy. What makes this moment different is the speed, scope, and cognitive nature of AI. It is redefining how work is done and who can do the work.
Dr. Evelyn Micelotta guided West Michigan family business organizations through an interactive session exploring how they perceive their organization’s approach to the adoption of technology.
During a live poll, most members saw themselves in three ways:
- Fast followers, prioritizing adoption of proven technologies rather than leading innovation.
- Constrained by limited internal expertise, impacting their ability to advance technology strategies.
- Actively experimenting with AI tools, signaling curiosity and early-stage engagement with emerging technologies.
These responses reflect organizations largely operating in the middle of the innovation spectrum, often defined as balancing interest in new technologies with caution, limited capacity, and a desire to reduce risk.
The Innovation Paradox in Family Businesses
She identified that while family firms possess strong structural advantages for innovation including long-term orientation, patient capital, and deep organizational trust, yet they often demonstrate lower willingness to innovate, because new technologies can threaten family control, identity, and legacy.
This tension is rooted in socioemotional wealth (SEW), which reflects the value placed on control, reputation, relationships, and continuity. For family run organizations, technology decisions also involve economic, personal, and strategic factors.
Where AI Fits Into the Paradox
She suggested that AI intensifies and continues this long-standing tension. Unlike prior technologies, AI targets cognitive work—judgment, decision-making, and expertise and evolves continuously, making adoption an ongoing process rather than a one-time investment.
At the heart of this is what Dr. Micelotta described as the automation–augmentation paradox. Automation replaces human tasks entirely. And, augmentation enhances human judgment and decision-making.
This is a ‘both/and’ tension that will remain over time.
Strategic Postures Toward Technology
Building on both the poll responses and this underlying paradox, Dr. Micelotta introduced four broader strategic postures that reflect how family businesses balance innovation, risk, and legacy.
1. Technology Pioneers They pursue first-mover advantage, supported by a long investment horizon, and are often led by founders or CEOs closely tied to innovation.
2. Selective Adopters
They adopt solutions when they are proven and aligned with business priorities, often focusing on process improvements rather than disruptive innovation. Decisions are filtered through the lens of preserving or balancing progress with family values.
3. Conservative Followers
Characterized by caution, these firms tend to view technology as a potential threat to control or legacy. They are typically late adopters, responding more to external pressures than internal strategy.
4. Digital Transformers
These organizations pursue comprehensive, organization-wide transformation. This shift is often triggered by crisis or generational transition, with new leaders bringing external perspectives.
“The paradox is familiar. The technology is new.”
Dr. Micelotta concluded by emphasizing that while the challenge is not new, the pace and stakes are higher in the era of AI. She encouraged organizations to take an intentional, self-aware approach. Embrace the tension between legacy and innovation and shift from an either or to both and thinking. Ultimately, she reinforced that progress is not about leading or following, but about understanding your posture and making aligned, forward-looking decisions to sustain your family business for generations.
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Family Business Alliance strives to help family businesses with the tools, resources, and connections to help businesses succeed. Learn more about our resources including Leading Forward, Succeeding at Succession, and Forging Frameworks of Governance that help to advance family business in our community.
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