Slack in public administration: conceptual and methodological issues

Ever since its introduction, the concept of organisational slack has constituted the basis for a considerable body of research within behavioural science. A great deal of this research has concentrated on budgetary slack, and within the field of public administration the focus has been on the slack‐ or budget‐maximising bureaucrat. As the reduction of slack is the purpose of many of the techniques which are part of the new public management, there is a need to focus on how to measure changes in the level of slack. The objective of this paper is to discuss the relationship between three central concepts within the research on slack: organizational slack, budgetary slack, and the discretionary budget; to assess whether these concepts are suitable for public organizations; and to discuss problems of measurement.