ICT and e-Business in the Pulp, Paper and Paper ... - empirica

Pulp, paper and paper products
3 Adoption of ICT and e-Business in 2006
Background information about the e-Business Survey 2006
e-Business W@tch collects data on the use of ICT and e-business in European
enterprises by means of representative telephone surveys. The e-Business Survey 2006
was the fourth survey after those of 2002, 2003 and 2005. It had a scope of 14,081
interviews with decision-makers in enterprises from 29 European countries. 31
Most of the tables in this report feature a breakdown of the population of enterprises
based on the aggregate of 10 EU countries – the "EU-10". 32 In these countries the
survey covered all 10 sectors (at least to some extent) and therefore comparability of the
sample across sectors is given. The EU-10 represent more than 80% of the total GDP
and inhabitants of the EU-25 and are thus to a large extent representative for the whole
EU.
In the P&P industry 1158 interviews were conducted; out of these, 964 with companies
from the EU-10. Some of the data are broken down into the two main sub-sectors of the
P&P industry, i.e. NACE 21.1 (Manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard) and NACE
21.2 (Manufacture of articles of paper and paperboard). It could be assumed that the
structural differences between the two sub-sectors (see Chapter 2) translate into
differences in ICT adoption, use and impact; figures provide strong evidence, however,
that structural differences are not reflected in the use of e-business in most areas.
The survey was carried out as an enterprise survey, i.e. focusing on the enterprise as a
business organisation (legal unit) with one or more establishments. Similarly to 2005, the
2006 survey also included only companies that use computers. The configuration of
the survey set-up (e.g. sampling) reflects the mandate of e-Business W@tch to focus on
sectors and SMEs. As a result, comparisons should mainly be made between sectors
and between size-bands of enterprises. Breakdowns by country are also possible, but
should be treated cautiously, for several reasons (see Annex I).
More detailed information about the survey methodology, including information about
sampling and the business directories used, the number of interviews conducted in each
country and sector, and data on non-response rates, are available in Annex I and on the
website of the e-Business W@tch.
31
32
The survey was conducted in March-April 2006 using computer-assisted telephone interview
(CATI) technology. Field-work was co-ordinated by the German branch of Ipsos GmbH
(www.ipsos.de) and conducted in co-operation with their local branches and partner
organisations. The countries covered include EU Member States, Acceding and Candidate
Countries, and countries of the European Economic Area (EEA).
The EU-10 cover the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, the
Netherlands, Poland, Finland and the UK.
30