Industrial restructuring and corporate risk management

Since 1980, restructuring of American corporations has figured prominently in industrial experience. Previously, such restructuring was typically the result of economic recessions and falling profits. In the past ten years, however, restructuring has become an ingredient of business strategy, for successful and unsuccessful companies, designed to help businesses cope with technological innovation, global competition, and economic downturns. Such changes hold a large potential for affecting corporate environmental and risk management functions. This analysis reviews three major types of restructuring-downsizing, reengineering, and outsourcing and the use of contract labor. In the 1990s all three forms of restructuring appear to have become an integral part of corporate practice, although the scope and depth of downsizing appear to be abating. Few studies have rigorously examined the effects of restructuring on corporate environmental and risk management programs and performance. The paper taps literature examining impacts of concern and suggests directions for future research.