Organizational downsizing, defined as a reduction in workforce, is a common strategy implemented by firms for the purpose of improving an organization's efficiency, work processes, or cost structure. However, previous research has shown that downsizing seldom generates positive results at a macro or micro level. It has been demonstrated that downsizing has a negative impact on financial performance, such as Return on Assets, Return on Investments, and profits in the long-term. Downsizing also has a negative impact on the remaining workers left employed, referred to as the "survivors". Survivors typically respond to downsizing by exhibiting negative attitudes and behaviors such as: decreasing employee morale, commitment, motivation, loyalty, work effort, and trust. Trust, in particular, has been shown to be critical component in survivors' responses to downsizing and is decreased through perceived violations of psychological contracts of employment and perceptions of organizational injustice. However, there is little understanding about how downsizing impacts survivors' collective trust in the long-term. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine how downsizing affects collective trust over time using a Latent Growth Curve Analysis (LCA). LCA allowed us to determine the trajectory of collective trust when downsizing occurs which we found to be nonlinear with diminishing returns. We found collective trust initially decreases in time period two but shows a slight rebound in the subsequent time. This suggests that the levels of collective trust decrease as a result of downsizing. We also found that organizational variables such as the severity of downsizing, voluntary turnover, and CEO pay moderate the relationship between downsizing and collective trust by magnifying the negative relationship between downsizing and collective trust. We also found that CEO tenure moderates the relationship between downsizing and collective trust by suppressing the negative relationship between downsizing and collective trust. Together, the theory and empirical results provide insight into the impact of downsizing on the survivors, ways to mitigate the negative consequences of downsizing, and uncover opportunities for extending management theory.

Thesis advisor: Raquel Muñiz / The concept of trust at the central office level has been examined primarily between the superintendent and schools or school leaders. The literature speaks to variable ways that researchers define teams in organizational settings, measure team effectiveness in education, and capture the importance of trust in teams. However, there is a gap in the educational literature concerning trust and teams, specifically among teams within the central office in the K-12 education setting. During times of crisis, trust becomes even more critical, as does the expectation that teams are working interdependently, rather than working in silos (Cornell & Sheras, 1998). Through a qualitative case study of one district with more than 5,000 students in the northeast region of the United States, I examined collective trust in teams at the district level through the examination of the five facets of trust, leadership behaviors that create the conditions for team member inclusion as a means of working across boundaries, and the presence of a collective mission toward collective action.I found that the perceptions of trust among district leaders and principals varied and that the variance was influenced by one’s seniority in the district hierarchy. Proactive strategies for team member inclusion were impacted by a leader’s perception of his/her power to influence a given situation. Moreover, the stated purpose of team missions was most often connected to information-sharing; thus, district meetings were perceived as transactional in nature. As such, the findings support a small number of recommendations within K-12 districts to create the conditions for greater inclusion and collective trust in teams at the central office level: (1) narrow the five facets of trust that matter to district leaders and team members to align perception and expectations around what builds trusting relationships; (2) explicitly work to invite participation of team members to create inclusive communities; and (3) clearly define and consistently communicate an individual team’s purpose to create a collective mission aligned to overall district goals. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

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