Turnaround strategies for companies in crisis: Watch out the causes of decline before firing people

Abstract

When a company goes into crisis, the first and most typical response is the dismissal of people, even before considering the sources of the decline. Although the reduction of costs may seem a quick and reasonable measure in this context, downsizing is not the only possibility, nor the most advisable response when facing decline. In turn, by identifying and understanding the sources of decline in time, a company may want to decide on human resource (HR) alternatives to layoffs. This research shows how the HR responses of declining companies should be in line with the sources of the decline. Adopting a configurational perspective, we propose a model of analysis that links sources of decline, turnaround strategy, and HR strategy (HRS) and practices. This model identifies four basic HRS for organizations in decline, according to its sources: flexibility-oriented, efficiency-oriented, niche-oriented, and maintenance-oriented HRS.