In search of future alternatives for family business: Family law contributions through Civil and Common Law comparison

•We explore a new component of the family concept to understand family business distinctiveness.•We introduce the legal system as a major potential of family business distinctiveness exploration.•We compare the family legal component from the Civil Law and the Common Law sides•We define “Non Exit Option” (NEO) as the component of the family coming from the absence of free-will in Civil Law and “Exit Option” (EO) in Common Law.•We explore the potential alternatives of the family business through scenarios coming from NEO and OE.

One of the major issues in family business field is the understanding of what makes family businesses different. Despite an increasing development of research during the last 30 years, little attention has been paid to the legal component of the family. The aim of this article is to explore the way legal attributes of the family, comparing Civil Law and Common Law, foresight the heterogeneity and the future of family business. The identification of a Civil Law specificity, No Exit Option, and the Common Law specificity, Exit Option, supports the formulation of different alternatives for family business futures.