In this study we identified and analyzed 75 articles in the family business (FB) literature between 2000 and 2014, focusing on the case study design they adopted. We found the positivistic case study approach to be the FB disciplinary convention. The two alternative approaches of critical realism and interpretivism were 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 could be employed to a greater extent, thus contributing to scientific pluralism in FB case study research.