Legalistic organizational responses to catastrophic illness: The effect of stigmatization on reactions to HIV/AIDS

Journal Article (Journal Article)

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has focused increased attention on catastrophic illnesses in the workplace, and because of the stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS, it raises three primary concerns for organizations: (1) organizational avoidance of legal sanctions and litigation; (2) the maintenance of organizational legitimacy; and (3) organizational protection of employee rights. Although many organizations adopt legalistic responses to cope with these concerns, the analysis presented in this article suggests that while legalistic approaches function well to protect organizational interests in terms of both legal liability and legitimacy, the are only partially able to protect employee rights. Drawing upon the limited literature on HIV/AIDS in the workplace, this article presents an agenda for future research on organizational responses to HIV/AIDS. © 1993 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Sitkin, SB; Roth, NL

Published Date

  • December 1, 1993

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 6 / 4

Start / End Page

  • 291 - 312

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1573-3378

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0892-7545

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1007/BF01385019

Citation Source

  • Scopus