eprintid: 47843 rev_number: 4 eprint_status: archive userid: 23303 importid: 106 dir: disk0/00/04/78/43 datestamp: 2023-05-25 09:52:17 lastmod: 2023-05-25 09:52:17 status_changed: 2023-05-25 09:52:17 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Verdier, Marie-Anne creators_name: Boutant Lapeyre, Jennifer creators_idrefppn: 187776644 creators_idrefppn: 253166500 creators_affiliation: Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier creators_affiliation: Toulouse School of Management creators_halaffid: 520525 title: The myth of workforce reductions efficiency: the performativity of accounting language ispublished: pub subjects: subjects_GESTION abstract: This paper draws on Austin’s conceptualization of performativity to show how the accounting strategies implemented before a workforce reduction can contribute to performing the myth of workforce reduction efficiency. To address this issue, we use both quantitative and qualitative methods. First, through quantitative analyses on a sample of 117 workforce reductions announced by 101 French listed firms from 2007 to 2012, we shed light how, by not taking accounting strategies into account in their models, prior mainstream studies may have conveyed false knowledge about improved performances after the operation and performed the workforce reduction efficiency supported by economic theories. Second, through a case study, we provide an in-depth illustration of the performativity effect of these accounting strategies and more precisely of downward earnings management, which can be considered a calculation act that contributes to performing the myth of the efficiency of these operations. Overall, this paper contributes to the workforce reduction literature by providing a critical illustration of how accounting numbers construct efficiency through the performative role given to earnings management. It also contributes to the critical accounting project by notably participating in the debate on the use of quantitative and mixed research methodologies in the critical accounting project. date: 2023-01 date_type: published publisher: Academic Press id_number: 10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102380 official_url: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104523542100099X faculty: gestion divisions: CRM keywords: Workforce reductions, Critical accounting, Earnings management, Performativity, Accounting language language: en has_fulltext: FALSE doi: 10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102380 view_date_year: 2023 full_text_status: none publication: Critical Perspectives on Accounting volume: vol. 90 number: n° 102380 place_of_pub: London. refereed: TRUE issn: 1095-9955 oai_identifier: oai:tsm.fr:2871 harvester_local_overwrite: number harvester_local_overwrite: volume harvester_local_overwrite: publish_to_hal harvester_local_overwrite: official_url harvester_local_overwrite: pending harvester_local_overwrite: creators_idrefppn harvester_local_overwrite: creators_halaffid harvester_local_overwrite: publisher harvester_local_overwrite: place_of_pub oai_lastmod: 2023-05-17T06:49:02Z oai_set: tsm site: ut1 publish_to_hal: TRUE citation: Verdier, Marie-Anne and Boutant Lapeyre, Jennifer (2023) The myth of workforce reductions efficiency: the performativity of accounting language. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, vol. 90 (n° 102380).