Purpose – This study aims to improve the understanding of the relationship between organizational slack and firm performance for high technology initial public offerings (IPOs). Design/methodology/approach – Using cluster analysis the paper investigates configurations of slack and their associated performance implications. Findings – The findings indicate the existence of distinct configurations of slack resources and associated performance differences among the configurations. Implications of the findings for managerial practice and future research are discussed. Originality/value – The purpose of this study is to extend slack measurement research by examining the slack and performance relationship in high-technology IPOs from a configurational perspective.