The Legitimacy of Organizational Downsizing in Canada: An Analysis of Explanatory Media Accounts

Kai Lamertz, Joel A.C. Baum

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Articlepeer-review

91 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We track the cognitive legitimation of organizational downsizing over time through an evolution of explanatory accounts in newspaper reports of middle-management layoffs in Canadian companies from January 1988 to December 1994. We advance an integrative typology of accounts and argue that the form and content of accounts capture sense-making activity by the press. We find support for our prediction that the form and content of these accounts changes over time as managerial downsizing is taken for granted as a legitimate business practice.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)93-107
Number of pages15
JournalCanadian Journal of Administrative Sciences
Volume15
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1998

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