Parentheses for alternatives in statement

I often come across a use of parentheses where the parentheses refer to an "alternative layer" of a statement.

An example might be helpful here:

"Hence, changes in employment that increase (decrease) earnings or that cause investors to expect higher (lower) future earnings should lead to changes in stock prices."
Cascio, W. F., Young, C. E., & Morris, J. R. (1997). Financial consequences of employment-change decisions in major US corporations. Academy of Management Journal, 40(5), 1175-1189.

I've googled my heart out, but I can't seem to find anything on this kind of usage. I find it mostly in textbooks and academic papers. Is there a specific name for this usage of parentheses, and under which conditions is it appropriate?

UPDATE: I'm adding a more prototypical example, with a causal link between the pairs of alternatives:

"The higher (lower) the buyer's perceptions of the pace of technological change, the lower (higher) the likelihood that a closed consideration set will be used."
Heide, J. B., & Weiss, A. M. (1995). Vendor consideration and switching behavior for buyers in high-technology markets. The Journal of Marketing, 30-43.

Solution 1:

The parentheses are equivalent to 'or' or the oblique ('/'). In the instant case, a "respectively" is additionally implied. This is a common usage.