Legal norms in Germany often cause excessive bureaucratic burdens for both public administrations and private norm addressees, limiting flexibilities in implementation and creating uncertainty and resistance among these groups. This study, commissioned by the Foundation for Family Business, sheds light on Germany's administrative culture as a driver for this systematic mismanagement in formulating legal norms. As a starting point, we assume that the problems in German lawmaking can also be traced back to the attitudes and routines of the staff in the ministerial bureaucracy and implementing administration.

The study will thus examine which values, attitudes, and considerations shape decisions in both ministerial and implementing administration through structured in-depth interviews with administrative staff. What are the reasons for these normative influences? Which levers – instances of socialization, institutional incentives and restrictions – can be adjusted in order to avoid the observed dysfunctionalities in lawmaking and implementation?

The thematic focus of the study is on building law, which includes building planning and building regulating legislation. Building law is of central importance for many family businesses, it covers all federal levels from local governments to the EU and has recently been considered one of the biggest challenges to necessary transformations in key areas such as housing, energy transition and sustainable urban development. Geographically, the study is limited to the federal states of Bavaria (BY), Baden-Württemberg (BW), Lower Saxony (NI), Saxony-Anhalt (ST) and the federal level. This sample considers potentially relevant differences in economic power, administrative tradition and party-political ideology, providing an approximately representative section of administrative cultures in Germany.