A socio‐cognitive interpretation of the potential effects of downsizing on software quality performance

Organizational downsizing research indicates that downsizing does not always realize its strategic intent and may, in fact, have a detrimental impact on organizational performance. In this paper, we extend the notion that downsizing negatively impacts performance and argue that organizational downsizing can potentially be detrimental to software quality performance. Using social cognitive theory (SCT), we primarily interpret the negative impacts of downsizing on software quality performance by arguing that downsizing results in a realignment of social networks (environmental factors), thereby affecting the self‐efficacy and outcome expectations of a software professional (personal factors), which, in turn, affect software quality performance (outcome of behaviour undertaken). We synthesize relevant literature from the software quality, SCT and downsizing research streams and develop a conceptual model. Two major impacts of downsizing are hypothesized in the conceptual model. First, downsizing destroys formal and informal social networks in organizations, which, in turn, negatively impacts software developers' self‐efficacy and outcome expectations through their antecedents, with consequent negative impacts on software development process efficiency and software product quality, the two major components of software quality performance. Second, downsizing negatively affects antecedents of software development process efficiency, namely top management leadership, management infrastructure sophistication, process management efficacy and stakeholder participation with consequent negative impacts on software quality performance. This theoretically grounded discourse can help demonstrate how organizational downsizing can potentially impact software quality performance through key intervening constructs. We also discuss how downsizing and other intervening constructs can be managed to mitigate the negative impacts of downsizing on software quality performance.

[1]  R. Burt.  Social Contagion and Innovation: Cohesion versus Structural Equivalence , 1987, American Journal of Sociology.

[2]  Diane B. Walz,et al.  Investigating traits of top performing software developers , 2000, Inf. Technol. People.

[3]  Clifford E. Young,et al.  Downsizing after all these years: Questions and answers about who did it, how many did it, and who benefited from it , 1999 .

[4]  Robert W. Zmud,et al.  A Synthesis of Research on Requirements Analysis and Knowledge Acquisition Techniques , 1992, MIS Q..

[5]  Sandra Slaughter,et al.  Quality Improvement and Infrastructure Activity Costs in Software Development: A Longitudinal Analysis , 2003, Manag. Sci..

[6]  Gregory Tassey,et al.  Prepared for what , 2007 .

[7]  Jason F Mathers.  An exploratory investigation of the interrelationships of experiential learning, outcome expectations, self -efficacy, and goals in clinical practica students , 2005 .

[8]  Joshua D. Margolis,et al.  The Emotional Tightrope Of Downsizing:: Hidden Challenges for Leaders and their Organizations , 2006 .

[9]  Richard D. Johnson,et al.  The Multilevel and Multifaceted Character of Computer Self-Efficacy: Toward Clarification of the Construct and an Integrative Framework for Research , 1998, Inf. Syst. Res..

[10]  Walker Royce.  CMM vs . CMMI : From Conventional to Modern Software Management by , 2002 .

[11]  J. Levine,et al.  Progress in Small Group Research , 1990 .

[12]  Wynne W. Chin,et al.  A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic - Mail Emotion/Adoption Study , 2003, Inf. Syst. Res..

[13]  C. Ranganathan,et al.  Information technology personnel layoffs in US organizations: An exploratory investigation , 2006, Inf. Manag..

[14]  Darlene Lopez,et al.  Social networks, support, and psychosocial functioning among American Indian women in treatment. , 2005, American Indian and Alaska native mental health research.

[15]  Deborah Compeau,et al.  Experience effects on the accuracy of self-assessed user competence , 2006, Inf. Manag..

[16]  Mark A. Mone,et al.  Organizational Decline and Innovation: A Contingency Framework , 1998 .

[17]  Pankaj Jalote,et al.  CMM in Practice: Processes for Executing Software Projects at Infosys , 1999 .

[18]  Maryann Keller,et al.  Rude Awakening: The Rise, Fall, and Struggle for Recovery of General Motors , 1989 .

[19]  Jiju Antony,et al.  Confluence of six sigma, simulation and software development , 2005 .

[20]  E. A. Locke,et al.  The Relation of Self-Efficacy and Grade Goals to Academic Performance , 1987 .

[21]  Abraham Carmeli,et al.  Top management team behavioral integration, decision quality, and organizational decline , 2006 .

[22]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  Self-Efficacy: Implications for Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management , 1987 .

[23]  Graeme G. Shanks,et al.  A model of ERP project implementation , 2000, J. Inf. Technol..

[24]  P. Shah.  Network Destruction: The Structural Implications of Downsizing , 2000 .

[25]  Ron Fulbright,et al.  How information technology professionals keep from being outsourced or offshored , 2004, CITC5 '04.

[26]  Mitchell Lee Marks,et al.  Workplace Recovery after Mergers, Acquisitions, and Downsizings: , 2006 .

[27]  Elizabeth J. Rozell,et al.  Computer efficacy: Determinants, consequences, and malleability , 2000 .

[28]  Michael A. Cusumano,et al.  How Microsoft builds software , 1997, CACM.

[29]  Charles W. Krueger,et al.  New methods in software product line practice , 2006, CACM.

[30]  W. Powell,et al.  The iron cage revisited institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields , 1983 .

[31]  Joseph J. Martocchio,et al.  Microcomputer playfulness: development of a measure with workplace implications , 1992 .

[32]  E. H. Bowman,et al.  The Effects of Organizational Downsizing on Product Innovation , 1995 .

[33]  Charles Hill,et al.  Beyond predictable workflows: Enhancing productivity in artful business processes , 2006, IBM Syst. J..

[34]  Parag A. Pathak,et al.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 1964, Nature.

[35]  Richard Elmore,et al.  How to Manage Urban School Districts , 2006 .

[36]  Shari Lawrence Pfleeger,et al.  Executive mentoring: what makes it work? , 1995, CACM.

[37]  R. Hurley.  The decision to trust. , 2011, Harvard business review.

[38]  Mayuram S. Krishnan,et al.  Effects of Process Maturity on Quality, Cycle Time, and Effort in Software Product Development , 2000 .

[39]  T. S. Ragu-Nathan,et al.  Investigating the Level of End-User Development and Involvement Among Time-Based Competitors , 2002, Decis. Sci..

[40]  Victor R. Basili,et al.  Improve Software Quality by Reusing Knowledge and Experience , 1995 .

[41]  H. Ibarra.  NETWORK CENTRALITY, POWER, AND INNOVATION INVOLVEMENT: DETERMINANTS OF TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ROLES , 1993 .

[42]  Fred D. Davis.  Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology , 1989, MIS Q..

[43]  Mohamed Zairi,et al.  BPR implementation process: an analysis of key success and failure factors , 1999, Bus. Process. Manag. J..

[44]  S. Wasserman,et al.  Mimetic Processes within an Interorganizational Field: An Empirical Test , 1989 .

[45]  Deborah J. Armstrong,et al.  Person-Job Cognitive Style Fit for Software Developers: The Effect on Strain and Performance , 2005, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[46]  Fabio Paternò,et al.  End-User Development , 1998, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

[47]  Joseph Moses Juran.  Juran on Quality by Design: The New Steps for Planning Quality into Goods and Services , 1992 .

[48]  Roderick D. Iverson,et al.  High-Involvement Management and Workforce Reduction: Competitive Advantage or Disadvantage? , 2006 .

[49]  J. Barling,et al.  Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Sales Performance , 1983 .

[50]  A. Bandura.  Reflections on self-efficacy , 1978 .

[51]  Mark A. Mone,et al.  Some Ideological Foundations of Organizational Downsizing , 1998 .

[52]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models , 1989 .

[53]  Amiya K. Basu,et al.  Multiattribute Judgements Under Uncertainty: a Conjoint Measurement Approach , 1990 .

[54]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Type A behavior and faculty research productivity: What are the mechanisms? , 1984 .

[55]  Ravinder Nath,et al.  A study of the relationships between total quality management implementation factors and software quality , 2000 .

[56]  Bassam Hasan,et al.  Effectiveness of Computer Training: The Role of Multilevel Computer Self-Efficacy , 2006, J. Organ. End User Comput..

[57]  Thiagarajan Ravichandran,et al.  Quality Management in Systems Development: An Organizational System Perspective , 2000, MIS Q..

[58]  Padmal Vitharana,et al.  Critical Factors of Software Quality Management (SQM) , 1998 .

[59]  David A. Tepper,et al.  Aligning Software Processes with Strategy , 2006 .

[60]  Jun Zhao,et al.  A Sociocognitive Interpretation of Organizational Downsizing , 2000 .

[61]  Jon Heales,et al.  Reliability factors in business software: volatility, requirements and end-users , 2002, Inf. Syst. J..

[62]  Kenneth P. De Meuse,et al.  New Evidence regarding Organizational Downsizing and a Firm's Financial Performance: A Long-Term Analysis * , 2004 .

[63]  Thiagarajan Ravichandran,et al.  Total Quality Management in Information Systems Development: Key Constructs and Relationships , 1999, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[64]  Wayne F. Cascio,et al.  Downsizing: What do we know? What have we learned? , 1993 .

[65]  Elaine H. Ferneley,et al.  Covert End User Development: A Study of Success , 2007, J. Organ. End User Comput..

[66]  Carol V. Brown,et al.  ERP implementation approaches: toward a contingency framework , 1999, ICIS.

[67]  Andrew M. Lane,et al.  Self-Efficacy, Self-Esteem and Their Impact on Academic Performance , 2004 .

[68]  Teresa M. Amabile,et al.  Changes in the Work Environment for Creativity During Downsizing , 1999 .

[69]  Martha A. Reavley,et al.  Organizational downsizing and its perceived impact on quality management practices , 2005 .

[70]  Ryan T. Wright,et al.  Communications of the Association for Information Systems , 2010 .

[71]  Bani Otieno Orwa.  An Examination of Factors Influencing Entrepreneurial Opportunity Identification Process , 2004 .

[72]  Deborah Compeau,et al.  Social Cognitive Theory and Individual Reactions to Computing Technology: A Longitudinal Study , 1999, MIS Q..

[73]  Fred Niederman,et al.  Information Systems Management Issues for the 1990s , 1991, MIS Q..

[74]  David Lorge Parnas,et al.  Software design , 2001 .

[75]  Mark C. Paulk,et al.  Capability Maturity Model , 1991 .

[76]  D. Reibstein,et al.  Bridging Behavioral and Economic Theories of Decline: Organizational Inertia, Strategic Competition, and Chronic Failure , 1998 .

[77]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. , 1982 .

[78]  Soon Ang,et al.  Turnover of information technology professionals: the effects of internal labor market strategies , 2004, DATB.

[79]  Watts S. Humphrey,et al.  Managing the software process , 1989, The SEI series in software engineering.

[80]  Thomas Hill,et al.  Communicating Innovations: Convincing Computer Phobics to Adopt Innovative Technologies , 1986 .

[81]  Chandrasekharan Rajendran,et al.  A Holistic Framework for TQM in the Software Industry: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Approach , 2004 .

[82]  K. Cameron,et al.  Organizational Downsizing: A Convergence and Reorientation Framework , 1993 .

[83]  Leslie P. Willcocks,et al.  Enterprise resource planning: the role of the CIO and it function in ERP , 2000, CACM.

[84]  Margaret A. White,et al.  Downsizing in a Learning Organization: Are There Hidden Costs? , 2000 .

[85]  John S. Chandler,et al.  An Empirical Investigation of Knowledge, Skill, Self- Efficacy, and Computer Anxiety in Accounting Education , 1998 .

[86]  H. P. Sims,et al.  Vicarious Learning: The Influence of Modeling on Organizational Behavior , 1981 .

[87]  Marilyn E. Gist,et al.  Self-Efficacy: A Theoretical Analysis of Its Determinants and Malleability , 1992 .

[88]  Deborah Compeau,et al.  Computer Self-Efficacy: Development of a Measure and Initial Test , 1995, MIS Q..

[89]  S. Thompson.  Social Learning Theory , 2008 .

[90]  Neil B. Harrison,et al.  Patterns of productive software organizations , 1996, Bell Labs Tech. J..

[91]  A. Bandura.  Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. , 1977, Psychological review.

[92]  Marvin D. Troutt,et al.  Software quality assurance: An analytical survey and research prioritization , 1999, J. Syst. Softw..

[93]  J. Brown,et al.  Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation , 1991 .

[94]  Robert D. Austin,et al.  The Effects of Time Pressure on Quality in Software Development: An Agency Model , 2001, Inf. Syst. Res..

[95]  A. Bandura.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[96]  Alexander D. Stajkovic,et al.  Self-efficacy and work-related performance: A meta-analysis. , 1998 .

[97]  Daniela Fogli,et al.  Supporting Work Practice Through End-User Development Environments , 2006, J. Organ. End User Comput..

[98]  Gordon B. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View , 2003, MIS Q..

[99]  Jack Aldridge,et al.  O.D. under conditions of organization decline. , 1991 .

[100]  George S. Benson,et al.  Employee development, commitment and intention to turnover: a test of ‘employability’ policies in action , 2006 .

[101]  Adel M. Aladwani.  An Integrated Performance Model of Information Systems Projects , 2002, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[102]  Richard T. Watson,et al.  Information Systems Enrollments: Can They Be Increased? , 2007, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[103]  Richard A. D'Aveni.  Dependability and Organizational Bankruptcy: An Application of Agency and Prospect Theory , 1989 .

[104]  Manju K. Ahuja.  Women in the information technology profession: a literature review, synthesis and research agenda , 2002, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[105]  Aneil Mishra,et al.  Best practices in white-collar downsizing: managing contradictions , 1991 .

[106]  Carol M. Sánchez,et al.  Organizational downsizing: Constraining, cloning, learning , 1995 .

[107]  Deborah Compeau,et al.  Application of Social Cognitive Theory to Training for Computer Skills , 1995, Inf. Syst. Res..

[108]  A Bandura,et al.  Cognitive processes mediating behavioral change. , 1977, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[109]  Barbara Resnick,et al.  Reliability and validity of the self-efficacy for exercise and outcome expectations for exercise scales with minority older adults. , 2004, Journal of nursing measurement.

[110]  Joseph J. Martocchio,et al.  Turning Work into Play: Implications for Microcomputer Software Training , 1993 .

[111]  E. Salas,et al.  Application of cognitive, skill-based, and affective theories of learning outcomes to new methods of training evaluation. , 1993 .

[112]  Lowell Jay Arthur.  Quantum improvements in software system quality , 1997, CACM.

[113]  Barry Boehm,et al.  Characteristics of software quality , 1978 .

[114]  Thomas Hill,et al.  Role of efficacy expectations in predicting the decision to use advanced technologies: The case of computers. , 1987 .

[115]  A. Coughlan,et al.  An Empirical Investigation * , 2002 .

[116]  Rj Rob Kusters,et al.  Soft factors affecting software quality , 2002 .

[117]  Manish Agrawal,et al.  Software Effort, Quality, and Cycle Time: A Study of CMM Level 5 Projects , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.