diff --git a/src/shared/getComponentOption.js b/src/shared/getComponentOption.js
index a2ffd51..8a01318 100644
--- a/src/shared/getComponentOption.js
+++ b/src/shared/getComponentOption.js
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import deepmerge from 'deepmerge'
  * @param  {Object} opts.component - Vue component to fetch option data from
  * @param  {String} opts.option - what option to look for
  * @param  {Boolean} opts.deep - look for data in child components as well?
+ * @param  {Function} opts.arrayMerge - how should arrays be merged?
  * @param  {Object} [result={}] - result so far
  * @return {Object} - final aggregated result
  */
@@ -18,32 +19,35 @@ export default function getComponentOption (opts, result = {}) {
   const { $options } = component
 
   // only collect option data if it exists
-  if ($options[option]) {
+  if (typeof $options[option] !== 'undefined' && $options[option] !== null) {
     const data = $options[option]
 
-    // TODO: check data is plain object, throw if not
-
-    // bind context of option methods (if any) to this component
-    for (const key in data) {
-      if (data.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
-        const value = data[key]
-        if (typeof value === 'function') {
-          data[key] = value.bind(component)
+    if (typeof data === 'object') {
+      // bind context of option methods (if any) to this component
+      for (const key in data) {
+        if (data.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
+          const value = data[key]
+          if (typeof value === 'function') {
+            data[key] = value.bind(component)
+          }
         }
       }
-    }
 
-    // merge with existing options
-    result = deepmerge(result, data, { arrayMerge })
-  }
+      // merge with existing options
+      result = deepmerge(result, data, { arrayMerge })
 
-  // collect & aggregate child options if deep = true
-  if (deep) {
-    const { $children } = component
-    for (let i = 0, len = $children.length; i < len; i++) {
-      const component = $children[i]
-      result = getComponentOption({ option, deep, component, arrayMerge }, result)
+      // collect & aggregate child options if deep = true
+      if (deep) {
+        const { $children } = component
+        for (let i = 0, len = $children.length; i < len; i++) {
+          const component = $children[i]
+          result = getComponentOption({ option, deep, component, arrayMerge }, result)
+        }
+      }
+
+      return result
     }
+    result = data
   }
 
   return result
diff --git a/test/getComponentOption.spec.js b/test/getComponentOption.spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef4e2eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/getComponentOption.spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import Vue from 'vue'
+import getComponentOption from '../src/shared/getComponentOption'
+
+describe('getComponentOption', () => {
+  const container = document.createElement('div')
+  let component
+
+  afterEach(() => component.$destroy())
+
+  it('fetches the given option from the given component', () => {
+    component = new Vue({ someOption: 'foo' })
+    const fetchedOption = getComponentOption({ component, option: 'someOption' })
+    expect(fetchedOption).to.eql('foo')
+  })
+
+  it('fetches deeply nested component options and merges them', () => {
+    Vue.component('merge-child', { template: '<div></div>', foo: { bar: 'baz' } })
+
+    component = new Vue({
+      foo: { fizz: 'buzz' },
+      render: (h) => h('div', null, [h('merge-child')]),
+      el: container
+    })
+
+    const fetchedOption = getComponentOption({ component, option: 'foo', deep: true })
+    expect(fetchedOption).to.eql({ bar: 'baz', fizz: 'buzz' })
+  })
+
+  it('allows for a custom array merge strategy', () => {
+    Vue.component('array-child', {
+      template: '<div></div>',
+      foo: [
+        { name: 'flower', content: 'rose' }
+      ]
+    })
+
+    component = new Vue({
+      render: (h) => h('div', null, [h('array-child')]),
+      foo: [
+        { name: 'flower', content: 'tulip' }
+      ],
+      el: container
+    })
+
+    const fetchedOption = getComponentOption({
+      component,
+      option: 'foo',
+      deep: true,
+      arrayMerge (target, source) {
+        return target.concat(source)
+      }
+    })
+
+    expect(fetchedOption).to.eql([
+      { name: 'flower', content: 'tulip' },
+      { name: 'flower', content: 'rose' }
+    ])
+  })
+})