The effect of red tape on emotions: A comparative replication and extension study

Red tape has a negative impact on individuals and organizations, as evidenced by recent meta-analyses of empirical data (Blom et al., 2021; George et al., 2021). Red tape is defined as “Rules, regulations, and procedures that remain in force and entail a compliance burden for designated stakeholders but whose contribution to stakeholders‘ objectives or values is less than the compliance and implementation resources expended on the rule.”( Bozeman, 2012). Current research on red tape has three main research gaps (e.g., Carrigan et al., 2020; George et al., 2021): (1) a lack of studies examining its impact in non-Western countries, (2) a reliance on cross-sectional surveys that limit findings to correlations rather than causations, and (3) an insufficient exploration of the mechanisms by which red tape negatively affects people and organizations, often focusing solely on direct relationships between red tape, wellbeing, and performance outcomes.