Downsizing and the fragility of corporate reputation: An analysis of the impact of contextual factors

Ann-Christine Schulz and Sarah Johann

Scandinavian Journal of Management, 2018, vol. 34, issue 1, 40-50

Abstract: This study extends prior research on the impact of downsizing on corporate reputation by investigating how specific aspects of downsizing measures influence this relationship. Using panel data on the S&P 100 companies for the period 1990–2000, we find that downsizing affects corporate reputation negatively and that the size of the effect depends on the content and the context of the downsizing announcement. More specifically, we find that the motive for downsizing, the time period in which it is announced as well as the extent of previous layoffs significantly influence the reputational penalties that are associated with corporate downsizing. Our results thus elucidate how contextual factors of a downsizing decision can influence the extent of the reputational damage of this measure.

Keywords: Corporate reputation; Downsizing; Layoff; Restructuring; Stakeholders (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956522116301580
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:scaman:v:34:y:2018:i:1:p:40-50

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/872/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... me/872/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2017.11.004

Access Statistics for this article

Scandinavian Journal of Management is currently edited by Janne Tienari

More articles in Scandinavian Journal of Management from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().