iterature, the temporal symmetry of this relationship, and the duration of its effects, are still unknown aspects
and are the objective of this paper.
Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate this effect, an exploratory study has been designed on a
sample of 449 Spanish industrial companies over a period of 12 years, assessing the impact of idle resources on
economic and financial profitability. By means of hierarchical regressions, the short- term, medium- term and
long-term effects of slack resources have been evaluated.
Findings – The results show that the impact on performance depends on the type of resource considered.
Available slack has a consistent and positive effect on economic profitability in the short term. Other types of
slack show persistent effects on performance, but, in the case of the recoverable slack, with a negative sign that
contradicts the benefits provided by these resources. Finally, potential slack only has a permanent effect on
financial profitability, but the sign changes depending on the economic context under consideration. There are
also differences in the duration of the effects according to the type of resources.
Originality/value – This paper advances the knowledge about the slack-performance relationship over time
that has been scarcely studied
