Work–family interface of women entrepreneurs: evidence from India

PurposeThe present study aims to examine work–family interface and explore its relationship with some key psycho-social variables amongst women entrepreneurs in the urban Indian context.Design/methodology/approachThis paper has adopted a quantitative design, whereby data collected using a questionnaire from 164 women entrepreneurs was analysed using hierarchical regression.FindingsFindings indicate that core self-evaluations, role involvement and social support worked in tandem towards diminishing conflict and driving enrichment. The role of family support and family involvement in enabling family-to-work enrichment suggests that work–family synergies could work to the unique advantage of women entrepreneurs. Work involvement was also seen to be related positively with work-to-family enrichment and negatively with family-to-work conflict.Research limitations/implicationsThe linkages between key psycho-social factors and work–family interface need to be studied on larger and varied samples, using alternative scales, for greater generalizability of results. Longitudinal research could also bring out valuable insights related to the effect of life cycle stages and other family characteristics on work–family interface.Practical implicationsWork–family interface should be regarded as a fundamental business imperative with crucial implications for the venture. Self-development training and counselling in Entrepreneurship Development Programmes for women can shield them from conflict and its negative consequences while incorporating key behaviours to foster enrichment instead.Originality/valueThe present study is the first empirical research to examine work–family enrichment and its relationship with core self-evaluations, role involvement and social support for women entrepreneurs in the Indian context.

Transformative value and the role of involvement in gamification and serious games for well-being

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the use of gamification and serious games as transformative technologies that encourage health and well-being behaviors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the transformative value that can be created by gamified apps and serious games and the role involvement plays between transformative value and desired outcomes.Design/methodology/approachFour gamified apps/serious games were examined in the study, with data collected from N = 497 participants. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results revealed that gamified apps and serious games can create three transformative value dimensions – knowledge, distraction, and simulation – which can have direct and indirect effects on desired outcomes. Examination of competing models revealed involvement plays a mediating rather than a moderating role for gamification and serious games for well-being.Originality/valueThis research contributes greater understanding of how technology can be leveraged to deliver transformative gamification services. It demonstrates the multiple transformative value dimensions that can be created by gamified apps and serious games, which assist the performance of well-being behaviors and which have yet to be theorized or empirically examined. The study also establishes the mediating rather than the moderating role of involvement in gamification and serious games, as called for in the literature.

Race-Ethnicity, Social Roles, and Mental Health: A Research Update

Social role involvement engenders sense of purpose and meaning to life, which sustains positive mental health. Racism within American society, however, results in experiences that disadvantage ethnoracial minorities, thus making it likely that social roles do not have universal remunerations. Using the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (N = 12,526), this study explores the association between role participation and psychological distress across nine ethnoracial groups. Results indicate that engaging in many roles is associated with better mental health for all ethnoracial groups. However, the combination of social roles has distinct effects for certain groups. We discuss the implications of the study findings for medical sociology, in general, and the social roles literature, in particular.