Internet Business Tendency Surveys

The report summarizes the present survey practices in Europe and some countries on other continents. The study was launched on behalf of the European Commission and the OECD in April-July 2006. The aim of the project was to identify the state of present survey practices of the institutions that conduct business tendency surveys world-wide. The questionnaire that was sent to the executive institutions in 45 countries focused on the questions how and to what extent the Internet has been integrated in the institutes' survey practices. 32 institutes have responded to the questionnaire and provided information on their present survey techniques. Among them were all European Union countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom), two European non- EU countries Switzerland and Norway, as well as some non-European countries (Japan, South Africa and Brazil). The research findings indicate that Internet mode is becoming more and more imperative in Business Tendency Surveys, being a preferable survey mode by a significant proportion of companies, particularly in the service and the manufacturing sectors. The results of the study confirm that the Internet offers a well-suited platform for the harmonization of the data collection methods in the European Union and beyond.