A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Why Organizations Downsize
提出一个概念框架，从社会行动基础和社会背景两个维度分析组织裁员的动因，旨在解释为何组织会裁员，为后续实证研究提供理论基础。
Although downsizing has become an integral part of organizational life in the U.S., there is little serious theoretical or empirical work on this issue. Nearly all of the completed work addresses the effects of downsizing, which usually are negative. Therefore, an important yet unanswered question is: Why do organizations downsize in the first place? In addressing this question, I offer some systematic thoughts on the causes of downsizing. Specifically, I develop a conceptual framework for studying organizational innovation that draws on two overlooked dimensions associated with this phenomenon, the basis of social action (rational versus arational) and social context (organizational versus extraorganizational). I then characterize downsizing as an organizational innovation and develop propositions that explain why organizations downsize. Finally, I emphasize that empirical evaluation of these propositions will help us to understand a pivotal organizational development of recent decades.