This study examined the effects of state regulation of financial, personnel, and academic resources on the administrative flexibility granted to universities, and tested the hypothesis that state regulatory climate influences levels of managerial satisfaction. Data were gathered through two surveys. The first covered management flexibility and state regulation issues; responses were received from 122 public universities. A second survey of administrative satisfaction and stress was administered to 12 managers on each campus; replies were received from 995 respondents at 100 universities. Survey questions were grouped in five sets of variables: state characteristics, campus characteristics, administrator characteristics, perceived administrative work climate, and overall satisfaction. The study found: (1) that administrative teamwork and interpersonal stress, respectively, had the strongest positive and negative influences on administrative satisfaction; (2) that academic and administrative dimensions of campus autonomy were relatively independent; (3) that there was only a slight relationship between the economic, demographic, social, and political characteristics of the state and the regulatory climate for state universities or managerial satisfaction levels, (4) that there was little correlation between state control and campus characteristics, and (5) that there was little direct relationship between administrator satisfaction and state and/or campus characteristics. Four figures summarize some of the data. (Contains approximately 65 references.) (CH)