Imagine there are 5 towns, and in each town please imagine some firm which is of similar size as yours. The firm needs to get some permit from the authorities. The situation with informal payments somewhat differs across the towns.
In town #2, the bureaucrats never take bribes. It is possible to get the permit following the rules, but it takes quite a long time. Would you say that in this town, the law-obedience of the bureaucrats is an obstacle to the current operations of the firm? (If yes, to which degree?)