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The purpose of this paper is to use a competency‐based model to explore empirically the factors that influence the suitability of different flexible work arrangements (FWAs) in organizations and investigate whether these FWAs match the preferences of unemployed women, whom the authors conceptualize as competitive resources.

Given the novelty of this model in FWA‐research, the authors conducted an in‐depth exploratory case study in a southern European country, Cyprus. Data were collected from both unemployed women and managers in organizations, using group interviews and questionnaires.

Overall, it was found that the FWAs that managers perceive as suitable for their organizations differ from those preferred by unemployed women. Nonetheless, specific organizational competencies affect positively the suitability of women‐friendly FWAs for organizations.

The results raise implications for policy makers and managers who want to enhance female employability and organizational competitiveness, respectively. The paper provides a blueprint for testing the concept of unemployed women viewed as strategic resources and emphasises the need to take measures to improve the perceived suitability of women‐friendly FWAs for organizations. Nonetheless, this study was limited to the Cypriot context, to private sector organizations, and to managerial intentions. Future research may build on this study to address these limitations.

This paper employs a competency‐based model to conceptualize unemployed women, who are neglected in extant research, as organizational resources. Further, it uses two different research samples to address its purposes and argues that FWAs differ in their ability to satisfy organizational and individual needs.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically test a multilevel framework for examining the links between part time work, productivity and institutional context. The authors emphasize the importance of integrating different theoretical perspectives to enrich the understanding of nonstandard work arrangements such as part time and organizational effectiveness such as productivity.

The authors used data from 2,839 businesses in 21 OECD countries. At the firm level, primary data were collected from the 2008 to 2010 survey of the Cranet research network. At the national level, the authors used information from OECD and Botero et al. (2004). The authors analysed the data using hierarchical linear modelling.

Firm use of part time work relates negatively to employment legislation but positively to gender empowerment. The relationship between part time work and productivity at firm level is moderated by employment legislation.

This study provides a basis for research in nonstandard work, firm outcomes and institutional policies to further advance.

Results indicate how managers should consider the relevant institutional context when deciding whether to promote the use of part time work. Results also show that policy-makers should be careful since employment policies may have adverse effects on use of part time in specific contexts.

The authors make theoretical and empirical contributions to the study of nonstandard arrangements by introducing a framework that better captures the complex interrelations between use of part time work, productivity and institutional context. Theoretically, the authors combine the resource based view with institutional theory into a multilevel framework that challenges the conventional model of the flexible firm.