One may hope to capture the behavioral and emotional effects of downsizing the labor force in rather abstract settings as an ultimatum game (see Fischer et al. (2008)), or try to explore downsizing in its more natural principalagent scenario with a labor market background. We pursue the latter approach and test experimentally whether downsizing occurs whenever (game) theoretically predicted and...

This study aims to illuminate processes of reputational change and to identify the theoretical mechanisms underlying it. We draw upon extant literature to develop three distinct explanations for reputational change, which emphasize criteria of organizational “character,” symbolic conformity, and technical efficacy, respectively. We evaluate these explanations by examining the reputational conse...

Context. X-ray surveys of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) indicate “cosmic downsizing”, with the comoving number density of highluminosity objects peaking at higher redshifts (z ∼ 2) than low-luminosity AGN (z < 1). Aims. We test whether downsizing is caused by activity shifting towards low-mass black holes accreting at near-Eddington rates, or by a change in the average rate of accretion onto sup...

BACKGROUND Organizational downsizing has become highly common during the global recession of the late 2000s with severe repercussions on employment. We examine whether the severity of the downsizing process is associated with a greater likelihood of depressive symptoms among displaced workers, internally redeployed workers and lay-off survivors. METHODS A cross-sectional survey involving tele...

BACKGROUND Previous studies show a variety of negative health consequences for the remaining workforce after downsizing events. This study examined self-reported work stress from 2009-2012 in the context of a large multi-site aluminum manufacturing company that underwent severe downsizing in 2009. METHODS This study examined the association between work stress and working at a work site that ...

Although both downsizing and voluntary turnover have been topics of great interest in the organizational literature, little research has addressed the possible relationship between the two. Using organization-level data from multiple industries, we first investigate whether downsizing predicts voluntary turnover rates. Second, to lend support to our causal model, we examine whether this relatio...

BACKGROUND We wanted to investigate if firm downsizing is related to an increased rate of disability pensions among the former employed, especially for those with musculoskeletal and psychiatric diagnoses, and for those having to leave the firm. METHODS Statistics Norway provided a linked file with demographic information and all social security grants from the National Insurance Administrati...

Careful consideration by managers of the potential impact of the popular strategy of economic restructuring (downsizing) on organisational structure and culture could improve the quality of organisational knowledge sharing, however this influence has not yet been addressed in the knowledge management literature. This paper explores how a strategy of downsizing may reshape organisational structu...

Downsizing is currently one of the most popular strategies being used by organizations in an effort to survive and compete in the current business scenario. Existing literature in the area has broadly focused on the following three issues: Why do organizations downsize? What are the consequences of downsizing on the individual and the organization as a whole? What are the strategies that can be...

The health care system, and hospitals, underwent considerable restructuring and downsizing in the early to mid-1900s in several countries as governments cut costs to reduce their budget deficits. Studies of the effects of these efforts on nursing staff and hospital functioning in various countries generally reported negative impacts. Health care restructuring and hospital downsizing was again b...