Organizational downsizing and the instrumental worker: Is there a connection?

A national population sample of 424 employees was used to explore the proposition that the widespread use of organizational downsizing by management has led employees to adopt a more instrumental orientation to the employment relationship. Contrary to predictions, employees who had never worked in a downsized firm (Controls), or who had been made redundant as a result of downsizing (Victims), reported stronger instrumentalist beliefs than those who had experienced at least one downsizing but had never been made redundant (Survivors). Employees who had experienced more downsizings were also more likely to report lower instrumentalism, by disagreeing with statements suggesting that work is a necessary evil, just something that has to be done in order to earn a living, and that money is the most important reason for having a job. The findings are discussed in the context of reactance theory and instrumentalism as a malleable socialized work attitude

The psychological effects of unemployment: a review of the literature

The literature on the psychological effects of unemployment is reviewed, with particular attention being paid to the somewhat scarce New Zealand literature on the subject. Studies conducted at the macrosocial level are discussed, followed by studies that focus on the individual, with respect to physical health, mental health and psychological well-being, and social attitudes. The differential effect of unemployment on various social groups is examined, and the methodological deficiencies in some of the studies reviewed are summarized. In conclusion, it is suggested that the documented psychological ill-effects of unemployment should make us view rising levels of unemployment with concern

The psychological effects of unemployment: a review of the literature

The literature on the psychological effects of unemployment is reviewed, with particular attention being paid to the somewhat scarce New Zealand literature on the subject. Studies conducted at the macrosocial level are discussed, followed by studies that focus on the individual, with respect to physical health, mental health and psychological well-being, and social attitudes. The differential effect of unemployment on various social groups is examined, and the methodological deficiencies in some of the studies reviewed are summarized. In conclusion, it is suggested that the documented psychological ill-effects of unemployment should make us view rising levels of unemployment with concern

Demystifying consumer digital cocreated value: social presence theory-informed framework and propositions

While cocreation research proliferates, existing studies fail to isolate its manifestation through digital (vs. non-digital) platforms. Moreover, extant research predominantly explores the cocreation process (vs. its outcome of cocreated value), which therefore merits further scrutiny, particularly in the digital context. Based on these gaps, we explore consumer digital cocreated value (CDCV), which reflects the consumer-perceived value that arises by interacting, collaborating, or communicating with or through digital platforms (touch-points). We classify digital platforms as (i) human-to-human platforms (H2HPs; e.g. social media), and (ii) human-to-machine platforms (H2MPs), which comprise the sub-types of (a) robotic process automation-based platforms (e.g. call centers), and (b) machine/deep learning-based platforms (e.g. service robots). We next compose a social presence theory-informed framework that explores the effect of perceived platform intimacy and immediacy on CDCV for our proposed platforms. We formalize the framework’s associations by developing a set of Propositions, and conclude by discussing important implications that arise from this research

Adventure Tourism and Adventure Sports Injury: the New Zealand experience

The primary aims of this study were to establish a client injury baseline for the New Zealand adventure tourism and adventure sport sector, and to examine patterns and trends in claims for injury during participation in adventure activities. Content analysis of narrative text data for compensated injuries occurring in a place for recreation and sport over a 12-month period produced over 15,000 cases involving adventure tourism and adventure sport. As found in previous studies in New Zealand, highest claims counts were observed for activities that are often undertaken independently, rather than commercially. Horse riding, tramping, surfing and mountain biking were found to have highest claims counts, while hang gliding/paragliding/parasailing and jet boating injuries had highest claims costs, suggesting greatest injury severity. Highest claims incidence was observed for horse riding, with female claimants over-represented for this activity. Younger male claimants comprised the largest proportion of adventure injuries, and falls were the most common injury mechanism

The relationship between organisational downsizing and workplace attitudes : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University (Albany), New Zealand

The primary aim of this study was to explore the relationship between employees' experiences of organisational downsizing and their subsequent work related attitudes. Measures of work attitudes included affective and behavioural commitment, turnover cognitions, trust in management, job security perceptions, job and work involvement, instrumentalism, and the degree to which employees regarded their job as a central life interest. Ten hypotheses were formulated and tested, with the general expectation being that downsizing experiences would be negatively related to the work attitudes question. A secondary aim of the research was to explore the role of a wide range of possible moderating variables in any observed relationship between downsizing experiences and employee work related attitudes, including employee age, tenure, job satisfaction, exposure to high-commitment HR work practices, the way in which the last downsizing experienced was conducted, and the time elapsed since the last downsizing experienced. Organisational downsizing was operationally defined, for the purposes of this study, as the intentional reduction by management of a firm's internal labour force by using voluntary or involuntary redundancies. Data collection was by means of a self-completion postal questionnaire sent late in 2002 to a random national sample of 2000 urban residents. Usable responses were obtained from 424 participants, who did not differ markedly from the survey population in terms of gender, ethnicity or age. Just over a third (33.9%) had never worked in an organisation that had downsized (a non-equivalent control group), 31.4% had experienced a downsizing (Survivors) and 34.7% had experienced a downsizing and lost a job through redundancy (Redundant). Tests of the hypotheses found clear relationships between the experience of downsizing and job security perceptions, instrumentalism, affective commitment, and trust in management, although not always in the directions predicted. Few moderator effects were identified, the most notable being that job security perceptions moderated the relationship between downsizing and trust in management, as well as affective commitment. Implications of these findings are discussed, together with their limitations. A theoretical model of the downsizing-work attitude relationships is also presented

Downsizing Organizations: Uses, Outcomes and Strategies

This paper reviews the comtemporary literature on organizational downsizing

Démystifier la valeur cocréée digitale du consommateur : cadre et propositions fondées sur la théorie de la présence sociale

Alors que la recherche sur la cocréation prolifère, les études existantes ne parviennent pas à isoler sa manifestation à travers des plateformes digitales (par opposition à non-digitales). De plus, les recherches existantes explorent principalement le processus de cocréation (par rapport à son résultat de valeur cocréée), qui mérite donc un examen plus approfondi, en particulier dans le contexte digital. Sur la base de ces lacunes, nous explorons la valeur cocréée digitale du consommateur (CDCV), qui reflète la valeur perçue par le consommateur qui résulte de l'interaction, de la collaboration ou de la communication avec ou via des plateformes digitales. Nous classons les plateformes digitales en (i) plateformes homme-homme (H2HP; par exemple, les médias sociaux), et (ii) plateformes homme-machine (H2MP), qui comprennent les sous-types de (a) plateformes basées sur l'automatisation des processus robotiques (par exemple, centres d'appels), et (b) plateformes basées sur l'apprentissage automatique/en profondeur (par exemple, robots de service). Nous composons ensuite un cadre fondé sur la théorie de la présence sociale qui explore l'effet de l'intimité et de l'immédiateté perçues de la plateforme sur CDCV pour nos plateformes proposées. Nous formalisons les associations du cadre en développant des Propositions, et conclurons en discutant des implications importantes qui découlent de cette recherche