The Digitalisation of Family Businesses: Cross-Country Insights from Slovakia and Serbia

Project duration: March 2026 – February 2028

Call/Program/Scheme: Bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Serbia and the Slovak Republic

Client / Financier: Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia

Participating institutions:

Institute of Economic Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Informatics at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra

Principal investigator (PI): dr Marija Mosurović Ružičić, Institute of Economic Sciences, Belgrade

The role of IEN in the project: IEN is a lead institution

IEN project team (manager/coordinator, team members):

dr Marija Mosurović Ružičić (team leader)
dr Marija Lazarević-Moravčević
dr Mihailo Paunović
dr Đina Ivanović

Description:

The project focuses on the digital transformation of family businesses in Serbia and Slovakia. Family firms represent a significant share of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector in both countries, yet the challenges they face in digitalisation remain underexplored, particularly generational differences, limited resources, and reliance on traditional business models. The project will generate empirically grounded insights relevant to the scientific community, policymakers, and the business sector.

The main objective of the project is a comparative analysis of the level, approaches, and characteristics of digitalisation in family businesses in the two countries. The research will map the adoption of digital tools, identify the key drivers and barriers to digital transformation, analyse its impact on organisational performance and competitiveness, and compare strategic approaches across the two countries.

The expected results include empirically based models to enhance digital competencies and optimise business processes in family firms, alongside targeted policy recommendations for decision-makers. As one of the first systematic comparative studies in this field between Serbia and Slovakia, the project will produce transferable frameworks supporting sustainable growth and the innovative development of family businesses, while fostering long-term academic cooperation through aligned research methodologies and joint scientific outputs.

Keywords: digitalization, family businesses, competitiveness, bilateral cooperation, business process innovation.