Journal article
Downsizing and Deknowledging the Firm
Work, Employment & Society, Vol.17(1), pp.73-100
2003
Abstract
Organizations in many OECD economies have undergone a decade of downsizing, restructuring and transition. For example, workforce reductions were a dominant feature of firm behaviour in Australia throughout the 1990s. These wide-ranging organizational transitions are expected to continue. What do the new organizational forms and new job structures mean in relation to skill trends? This article examines the changing paradigms for understanding long-term skill change and assesses their relevance by empirically examining the relationship between downsizing, deskilling/upskilling and contingent labour use in larger firms. The analysis is based on a comprehensive, longitudinal data set of 4153 companies. A key finding is that downsizing was used as a vehicle for a different form of `deskilling' across the 1990s. Alongside the `knowledge organization', there are processes of deknowledging the firm.
Details
- Title
- Downsizing and Deknowledging the Firm
- Authors
- C R Littler (Author) - University of London, United KingdomPeter Innes (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
- Publication details
- Work, Employment & Society, Vol.17(1), pp.73-100
- Publisher
- Sage Publications Ltd.
- Date published
- 2003
- DOI
- 10.1177/0950017003017001263
- ISSN
- 0950-0170
- Organisation Unit
- School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Engage Research Lab; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99448847802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Economics
- Industrial Relations & Labor
- Sociology