During the 1980s budgetary crisis public sector organisations have mainly relied on private sector cutback management strategies. Such private sector approaches are now increasingly seen as inappropriate in a public environment. This project assesses how the publicness of organisations affects the choice and implementation of cutback management strategies. It first maps strategies public managers use to implement cutbacks in public sector organisations. A comparative case study design is then used to examine the effect of publicness on strategy choice and implementation, looking at individual-level and organisational-level characteristics. Findings contribute to theory development in cutback management in public organisations.

• change management
• cutback management
• leadership
• mixed methods
• public management
• top civil servants