Survivors' Discursive Construction of Organizational Identification after a Downsizing

This study examines how surviving employees discursively construct organizational identifications after a downsizing in a large Scandinavian telecommunications company. Further, the analysis reveals which factors in survivors´ discourse are determining for the creation of their organizational identifications. Discourse analysis of the interview data indicate four types of employee identification response categories: 1) non-identification caused by indifference, 2) identification fuelled by job identification, consensus as to the downsizing strategy, sense of procedural justice and acceptance of transactional contract, 3) contextual dis-identification due to radical, cultural changes, elimination of networks and poor corporate reputation, and 4) procedural dis-identification caused by lack of procedural credibility, disrespect and responsibility avoidance. The results of this study indicate that a strong identification with the pre-downsized organization seems to foster a strong sense of dis-identification with the post-downsized organization. The implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.