In this study, we identified and analyzed 75 articles in the family business (FB) literature between 2000 and 2014 as to the case study design they adopted. We found that the positivistic case study approach is the FB disciplinary convention. The two alternative approaches of critical realism and interpretivism are used to a significantly lesser extent. We anticipate that in the future the positivistic approach will continue to be used widely. The other two approaches can be employed to a higher extent since their use is likely to contribute to a scientific pluralism in FB case study research.
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