dc.description.abstract |
Organizational downsizing becomes inevitable sometimes, for competence
improvement, output augmentation or cost cutback but the results may be in the
form of negative impacts on survivors’ thoughts, moral, and insights, if the
technicalities of survivors’ psychological attitudes are not considered by the
corporations. Its ultimate impact appears in the form of worsening organizational
phenomena instead of improvement. Extent of downsizing is the main factor on
which survivors’ potential psychosomatic thoughts and organizational behaviors are
based. The present research uses experimental type-retrospective study design to
explore the impact of downsizing and extent of downsizing, on survivors’ affective
organizational commitment, work motivation and psychological well-being. Sixteen
main and nine secondary hypotheses were formulated. A pre-formulated and pre-
tested research questionnaire measuring affective organizational commitment, work
motivation,
psychological
well-being,
and
downsizing
was
circulated.
Disproportionate stratified random sampling technique was adopted to collect the
data from 299 respondents before downsizing (72.93% response rate) and 520
respondents after downsizing (control group: 272 respondents with 71.58%
response rate; and experimental group: 248 respondents with 62% response rate)
from the four organizations throughout Pakistan; two from secondary and tertiary
sectors of economy each. Data collected was examined employing explanatory
statistics and ANOVA at 0.05 alpha levels. The results were further verified using
Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Path Analysis techniques. As per results,
a negative shift in survivors’ psychological attitudinal levels has been observed
before and after downsizing. The downsizing itself, has negative effects on
survivors’ organizational commitment, work motivation and psychological well-
being and that psychological attitudes and behaviors are the limiting factors of
extent of downsizing. As per results the extent of downsizing must be limited to a
predetermined level (20% suggested by the study) to avoid the deteriorating effect
on these psychological states. A positive correlation is found among the three
attitudinal variables. Affective organizational commitment and psychological well-
being have been found to be mediating the relationship between work motivation
and some tangible demographics. The difference of experiences regarding
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survivors’ attitudes is also assessed sector-wise as well as among organizations
separately. This study provides a mean to academicians, researchers, and policy
makers to understand the influence of downsizing and its extent on survivors’
selected attitudes in secondary and tertiary economy sectors of developing
countries.
Keywords:
Downsizing,
organizational
commitment,
work
motivation,
psychological well-being, secondary sector, tertiary sector, layoff survivors. |
en_US |