Understanding survivors' reactions to downsizing in China

作者：Guo Chun^*; Giacobbe Miller Jane K

来源：Journal of Managerial Psychology, 2012, 27(1): 27-47.

DOI：10.1108/02683941211193848

• China
• Downsizing
• Organizational justice
• Outcome favourableness
• State-owned enterprises
• Public sector reform

Purpose - Using an organizational justice framework, this paper aims to examine survivors' attitudinal and behavioral correlates to downsizing in Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
Design/methodology/approach - The authors conducted one qualitative study involving personal interviews and one quantitative study involving structured surveys to develop an understanding of the phenomenon.
Findings - The studies revealed that justice-enhancing managerial practices were associated with survivors' evaluations of their outcomes after the downsizing, which in turn, were related to survivors' positive attitudinal and behavioral reactions. Research implications/limitations The findings suggest that organizational justice provides a useful avenue for understanding survivors' perspectives in the downsizing context in China. However, retrospective, cross-sectional data were used. Future research might investigate causality in the downsizing process by using a quasi-experimental design. Practical implications Managerial practices that address the relational aspects of organizational justice (informational and interpersonal justice) can serve as effective downsizing strategies in China.
Originality/value - The studies are among the first to explore survivors' perspectives of downsizing from a micro-level, organizational justice perspective in China. They contribute to the organizational justice literature by examining the relative importance of various justice perceptions in a collectivist culture.

• 出版日期2012