How top civil servants decide on cutbacks: A qualitative study into the role of values

Abstract

Confronted with severe budgetary constraints, top civil servants have to implement cutbacks, either by applying proportional or targeted cuts as their cutback management strategy. Drawing on élite interviews, the author describes how the values of top civil servants manifest themselves in cutback decisions. The paper, based on 26 interviews with Dutch top civil servants, shows that the relationship between values and cutback management strategies is much less clear than conceptually understood in the cutback management literature and suggests that values of top civil servants are context-dependent. IMPACT: Top civil servants play a central role in managing cutbacks, so it is important to understand what motivates their decisions. This paper focuses on their values, as these provide direction to behaviour. The paper shows that the relationship between values and cutback management strategies is less clear than previously understood. The use of proportional cuts is not only motivated by an emphasis on equal treatment or fairness but also by efficiency concerns. However, efficiency concerns can also lead to targeted cuts, because top civil servants focused on organizational resilience and robustness are more inclined to use this strategy. For top civil servants and political actors alike, it is important to realize and clarify what values motivate decision-making in tough times. This paper will help in decision-making about the values that should be prioritized during cutbacks.