This study analyses the current bureaucratic burden on companies from a holistic, process-oriented (model) perspective – the so-called regulatory cycle. On the basis of a quantitative enterprise survey, an international comparison and a literature analysis, a phase-oriented, holistic action plan for a noticeable reduction of the bureaucratic burden is developed.
According to the results, companies perceive a significant increase in the bureaucratic burden, with psy-chological costs, opportunity costs and indirect follow-up costs also being highly relevant. Bu-reaucracy reduction and regulation in Germany should therefore be thought more holistically, strategically and in terms of a paradigm shift – away from the idea of control and towards more practicality, meaningfulness and proportionality of regulatory norms.