Method trends and method needs: Examining methods needed for accelerating the field

•This article reviews the past 30 years (1983–2013) of analytic and statistical methods used by family business researchers.•Content analysis of 124 peer-reviewed scholarly journals shows the field has undergone significant changes.•The field nowadays relies on more advanced methods using larger sample sizes and more stringent underlying theory.•Approaches we believe hold great promise for the development of the field are CB-SEM and PLS-SEM, as well as set-theoretic and Bayesian analysis.

To define research and statistical methods needed for relevant research and the development of the family business field, this article reviews the past 30 years of analytic and statistical methods used by family business researchers. The article explores the many reasons for studying research methods, especially in family business, and examines the progression and development of methodologies, sample sizes and related methodological issues, as well as theories and topics studied in family business research. Directions for future research highlight methods that we believe should be used to advance family business theory and practice.