ERIC Number: EJ873220
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0969-6474
EISSN: N/A
Downsizing?-?Intellectual Capital Performance Anorexia or Enhancement?
Williams, S. Mitchell
Learning Organization, v11 n4-5 p368-379 2004
The objective of this paper is to investigate if downsizing contributes to, or impedes, a firm's intellectual capital performance (ICE) based on a longitudinal analysis of 56 United States publicly listed companies that significantly downsized their workforce during the mid-1990s. Empirical analysis indicates that for the majority of firms, ICE consistently declined annually for the first 3 years, following downsizing with a moderate increase in the fourth year. Findings provide several interesting insights and conclusions. Most importantly, downsizing appears to have a negative impact on a firm's ICE following the reduction in workforce number. The impact of downsizing appears to be more significant amongst IC resource rather than traditional (physical capital) based firms. It is recommended that corporate directors and managers seek alternative strategies to address poor performance and competitive results than immediately downsizing their workforce as such action affects ICE.
Descriptors: Organizational Climate, Dislocated Workers, Job Layoff, Context Effect, Social Networks, Corporations, Intellectual Property, Human Capital, Social Capital, Information Systems, Organizational Culture, Knowledge Management
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A