Methods for the Study of Downsizing: A Review

Abstract

There has been a world-wide increase in the incidences of downsizing practice across economies and across organizations. This has been considered as the basis for coping with increasing competition. The present paper looks into some studies on downsizing. The focus of the paper is majorly on the research methodology used in these studies. This paper analyses the methods used for the study of downsizing and suggests the ideal methods of study for: a) organizational outcomes, and b) individual outcomes, which include the victims, the survivors and the implementers. The suggestion is to have context specific and issue specific studies with more emphasis towards the triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods to increase the soundness of the study.