Applying a neoinstitutionalist perspective, the article analyzes administrative research in Finland. The results pinpoint contradictory official microinstitutional regulation influencing the research albeit moderated by flexible implementation, and recent institutional weakening in the status of the research field. Institutional trade-offs obtain between the limited global scholarly contribution of Finland’s administrative research and the domestic legitimation it has enjoyed so far. The characteristic radical institutional changes have comprised measures for the academic upgrading of teaching and research disciplines. Besides invigorating the global contribution of Finland’s administrative research, the results suggest the rehabilitation of public administration as an academic field in the country.