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This paper aims to investigate the effect of flexible working conditions on work‐family conflict in European countries. Flexible work has increasingly been used by employers to adapt to the demands of economic competition, often at the expense of employee's demands. Yet, at the same time, flexible work can provide a means to better combine work and family obligations. The paper seeks to explore which of these effects dominates for different types of flexible employment, paying specific attention to gender‐specific effects.

For the cross‐national analysis of work‐life‐conflict, the authors employ the latest wave of the European Social Survey (ESS) from 2010, featuring a module on “Family, work and well‐being”. Binomial logistic regression is used to identify determinants of work‐life‐conflict both on the micro‐ and the macro‐level. In addition to looking at flexible work forms as a phenomenon per se, specific attention is given to the experience of different types of employment flexibilization throughout the financial crisis.

For both genders, irregularity and unpredictability of working hours negatively impact on work‐life conflict beyond the mere amount of working hours. Yet, higher autonomy in choosing one's work time is used very differently: While women tend to use their control over working hours to achieve a better work‐life‐balance, men tend to use these arrangements to increase their work commitment, thereby enhancing their perceived work‐family conflict. The authors argue that this gender‐specific use of flexible work arrangements might still reflect the traditional gender roles and gender‐segregated labour market structures. Adding to previous literature, the authors furthermore demonstrate that gender‐specific differences are also apparent in the effects of the most recent economic crisis.

By examining the effects of various types of flexible employment separately for men and women, the paper contributes to a better understanding of the gender‐specific effects of flexible work arrangements on work‐family‐conflict within European countries. The 5th wave of the ESS furthermore for the first time allows an empirical investigation of the effects of the recent financial crisis on work‐family conflict from a cross‐nationally comparative perspective.

The purpose of this editorial is to provide an overview of the wider debates concerning the evolution of work‐life balance practice and policy since the onset of the “Great Recession” of 2008 and to draw out some comparisons of the issues raised by the papers in the special issue by focusing particularly on the example of the UK.

The editorial analyses how the direction and pace of changes in work‐life balance practice and policy varies between different national contexts and welfare regimes and also asks whether, within the same national context, the changes taking place are always consistent.

The special issue draws together an international overview of work‐life balance measures which focuses particularly on measures for fathers, an EU‐wide analysis of the use of flexible employment and its relationship with work‐family conflict and a number of specific country case studies from Southern Europe where recession has been particularly severe (Spain and Italy) and the Southern hemisphere (Australia) where the recession has been less deep. It finds that economic crisis and austerity have resulted in a variety of labour market changes and policy responses in different national settings, some but not all of which map onto existing welfare regime typologies. The articles raise a wider set of questions about what type of policy best promotes employees' work‐life balance. The editorial argues in favour of legislative support for work‐life balance to help address structural inequalities.

This editorial and special issue is one of the first to review the small but growing literature on the effect of recession on individuals' experience of work‐life balance, organisations' approach to work‐life balance and reconciliation policy since 2008.

The objective of the study is to identify the themes of “family friendly practices” and to perform a literature review. The research aims to identify the emerging trends in the area of “family friendly practices” by carrying out an exhaustive literature review.

The study synthesizes the literature between the years 2010 and 2019. First of all, 150 research articles were identified by keyword search, bibliography and citation search, out of which 57 research articles were selected on the basis of the most sound theoretical background and maximum literature contribution. The citation analysis method was performed on these studies in order to study the journals, authors by using Google Scholar, ResearchGate, the international database Science Citation Index and SCImago Journal Ranking.

The author citation count shows that the research topic is still getting recognition and the research in this area is increasing. The finding of the research is that the current research in family-friendly practices has focused mainly on seven topics: availability and usability of family-friendly policy, job satisfaction, organizational performance, supervisor or manager support, work–life conflict, employee turnover employee retention and women’s employment.

The study may provide valuable inputs to the HRD practitioners, managers, research scholars, to understand the recent trends in the field of family-friendly policy. As per the best knowledge of the author, this is the first study on family-friendly practices using citation analysis.

The purpose of the study is to examine how utilizing volunteered data influences the response and unsubscribe rates of e-mail marketing to consumers.

In three longitudinal field experiments conducted among 1,864 applicants of a higher education institution, the study compares customized marketing e-mails based on volunteered consumer data to e-mails that are personalized based on observed consumer data and to control e-mails that are not tailored by the marketer at all.

The results indicate that marketers should make consumers active participants in the communication process, as response rates are higher in those e-mails where volunteered data are utilized. However, the unsubscribe rate is the highest in customized e-mails.

The authors demonstrate that e-mails displaying empowering aspects influence consumers' behaviors and lead to outcomes that mostly outperform non-empowered e-mails.

Compared to other forms of interactive marketing, e-mail has lagged behind in both popularity and customer-friendly implementation. However, it has the potential to succeed if marketers pay more attention to consumer empowerment. As over 306 billion e-mails are sent worldwide daily and 75% of marketers use e-mail when contacting customers, the increase in response rates can have a significant influence on their returns.

Unlike prior research the focus was on the process of tailoring, this perspective supports customer advocacy and emphasizes consumers' important role in creating engaging, empowering e-mail marketing communication.

People spend more than 90% of their smartphone usage time on mobile applications (apps). Companies have capitalized on this opportunity to develop various types of branded apps. However, due to fierce competition in the app market, most branded apps have a low retention rate. Drawing on the theory of psychological ownership, this study aims to investigate drivers of what we call “strong” indicators of branded app outcomes or, namely, indicators of app engagement that reveal a higher level of consumer brand commitment.

Two studies were conducted using online and offline surveys. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used for data analysis.

The results of the two studies confirm the research hypothesis. When utility-related antecedents (perceived usefulness and ease of use) are controlled for, self-brand congruity and investment size facilitate psychological ownership towards a branded app, which, in turn, generates feedback intention and brand evangelism.

Unlike the utilitarian perspective on user engagement with branded apps, the current research contributes to the literature by proposing a self-concept perspective that can drive strong indicators of branded app marketing outcomes. Two strategies through which practitioners can facilitate these indicators and create a competitive advantage for their companies are proposed.

The purpose of this study is to examine psychological ownership (PO) experienced by followers of social media influencers toward both influencer and the product.

Data were collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews that were conducted with 30 respondents and analyzed using thematic analysis.

The study demonstrated that the PO experienced by the follower changes under different conditions resulting from perceived value, social currency and follower activity. Social currency plays a vital role in determining the target of PO, often affecting the narrative by the follower.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the transference of PO between product and influencer as experienced by the follower. It provides an understanding on PO that is experienced in different levels of intensity and changes depending on the motive of the follower; hence, transference of PO occurs and it is not a static.

The purpose of this paper is to test if the order in which potential customers receive company related information and product related information about a new brand can influence their trust and purchase intentions towards that brand. The empirical context is when both product and company are new to a market and share a brand name.

Two experiments, each involving a different product type, are used to test whether higher trust and purchase intentions towards a new brand are likely when company related information is provided first compared to when product related information is provided first.

Company related information is more diagnostic than product related information and carries more weight in initial consumer trust judgements particularly when it is evaluated first. There is a similar primacy effect on purchase intentions but one mediated by initial trust. The effect is more pronounced for product types that involve a higher perceived risk when buying.

This paper adds to our understanding of the respective roles of corporate and product communication in the process of brand trust formation for newly launched brands by evidencing and explaining primacy effects related to the greater diagnosticity of corporate brand information.

Market entrants should communicate information about their company before promoting their products.

While prior work has shown that both company and product related information can influence customers’ trust towards a new brand, there has been no assessment of the benefits from ordering these communications. The focus here is then on the processes involved in brand trust formation, rather than on identifying specific antecedents of brand trust.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the temporal effects of perceptions of information obtained from social networks (SNS) on online shopping behavior using trust as a mediator. The model adopts the two dimensional view of trust: cognitive and affective trust. The direct effects and indirect effects of information perceptions on behavioral intentions are empirically explored using a longitudinal approach. Specifically, we investigate the comparative roles of cognitive and affective trust on the influence of perceptions of information from SNS on online shopping behavior.

The study was fielded at two points in time (T and T+1) that were approximately 14 months apart. The survey (T) was distributed via e-mail to 1,484 prospects. From this mailing, 297 prospects who had not replied and another 145 with missing data were removed, leaving 1,042 respondents. In all, 14 months later, the survey (T+1) was e-mailed to these 1,042 respondents who took part in the survey at time point T. At time point T+1, only 341 respondents from the original sample responded. After excluding those with missing values, the final sample included 313 respondents.

The results show significant carryover effects from time T to time T+1 in perceptions of information obtained from a social network, in behavioral intentions and in both dimensions of trust. Furthermore, the study revealed that over time, the influence of affective trust is greater than that of cognitive trust, both in its effect on behavioral intentions as well as in its mediating role between information perceptions and behavioral intentions.

The study contributes to the literature on the mediating roles of cognitive and affective trust in the development of behavioral intentions on over time in the social network environment.