Family-friendly policy evolution: a bibliometric study

The global population crisis, marked by aging and low fertility rates, necessitates the examination of family-friendly policies designed to boost fertility. These policies, originating in Western welfare states, aim to support employees facing work-family conflicts, particularly women traditionally burdened with more family responsibilities. Work-family conflict, stemming from competition between work and family demands, negatively impacts employee well-being, productivity, and organizational performance. Family-friendly policies aim to mitigate this conflict, benefiting employees, organizations, and society by improving employee well-being, fostering innovation, and potentially increasing fertility rates. While research on family-friendly policies has expanded, core issues like definition and policy positioning remain debated. This study employs bibliometrics and social network analysis to comprehensively analyze the development, current state, and future directions of family-friendly policy research, addressing questions regarding the policies' definition, development, and impact on employees, organizations, and society, specifically concerning work-family conflict.

Existing literature reviews on family-friendly policies are limited in scope and time, necessitating a comprehensive bibliometric approach. Recent bibliometric studies have addressed related areas such as work stress and work-family balance, identifying research gaps. However, a dedicated bibliometric study on family-friendly policies is lacking. This study aims to fill this gap by using bibliometric analysis to provide a clearer understanding of the field's development and future direction, offering insights for both researchers and practitioners.

This study uses the Web of Science Core Collection (SCI-E, SSCI, AHCI, and ESCI) database to retrieve relevant literature published between 1985 and 2022. Due to the lack of a uniform definition of "family-friendly policies," the search strategy employed a combination of keywords: "family friendly polic*", "family responsive polic*", "family supportive polic*", "work family polic*", "family friendly benefit*", and "Family friendly practice*". The search was limited to English-language articles and reviews. Manual screening was conducted to remove irrelevant results. A total of 590 documents (571 articles and 19 reviews) constituted the final sample for analysis. CiteSpace (v.5.6 R5) was used for bibliometric analysis, including temporal and spatial distribution analysis, co-citation analysis, keyword analysis, and burst detection. The analysis examined publication trends, collaboration networks among countries and institutions, influential authors and journals, and the evolution of research topics and keywords.

The study reveals an exponential growth in the number of publications and citations on family-friendly policies. The United States significantly dominates the field in terms of publications and citations, followed by the United Kingdom, China, and Australia. Collaboration networks primarily exist within countries rather than internationally. The top ten institutions publishing on family-friendly policies are predominantly located in the United States. A core group of authors in this research area has not yet fully formed. Analysis of journals reveals that research is published across multiple disciplines, including business, economics, sociology, and psychology. The most frequently cited publications highlight the wage penalty for motherhood, work-family conflict, and the impact of various family-friendly policies on employee well-being and organizational outcomes. Co-citation analysis identified eight major research clusters: mother's perception, work-family support policies, gender ideologies, business outcomes, parental leave policies, supervisor support, paternal health, and work-family balance. Keyword analysis shows that "gender," "conflict," "women," "impact," and "work" are frequent keywords, reflecting current research priorities. Burst detection identified key publications related to organizational management and societal factors. The evolution of family-friendly policy research is divided into three phases: the initial stage (1970s-2000) focusing on policies aiding women; the expansion stage (2000-2015), broadening coverage to encompass more employee needs; and the steady development stage (2015-2022), prioritizing fertility challenges and flexible work arrangements.

The findings highlight the increasing importance of family-friendly policies and the need for interdisciplinary research. The dominance of the US in the field suggests a need for greater international collaboration. The lack of a core group of authors indicates a potential for further consolidation and collaboration among researchers. The identified research clusters and keywords reflect the evolution of the field, emphasizing the shift toward research into the societal impact of family-friendly policies and the implementation of flexible work arrangements. The study's findings contribute to a better understanding of family-friendly policy research, highlighting gaps and suggesting directions for future research.

This study provides the first systematic scientometric analysis of family-friendly policy research. It reveals an exponentially growing field, dominated by US researchers, with a focus on women and work-family conflict, but lacking a core group of authors. Future research should address the identified limitations, focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, explore policy dynamics, and investigate the impact of policies on various employee groups and societal outcomes. The 2W1H framework provides guidance for future research to explore the what, why, and how of family-friendly policies.

This study is limited by the use of the Web of Science database which may not capture all relevant literature. The focus on English-language articles and reviews also limits the scope of the analysis. The methodology of keyword searching could also have missed some relevant literature. Future studies should address these limitations by using multiple databases and broadening the search strategy.