Relevance
The survey on ICT usage and
e-commerce in enterprises has the aim to obtain relevant indicators on the use
of information and communication technology as well as e-commerce in
enterprises. The scope of this survey is
to measure progress in relationship to the digital agenda targets set for
EU2020.
It is designed to satisfy the
concepts and definitions of Regulation (EC) No. 808/2004 and subsequent
implementing regulations.
Methodological
description of survey
For the purpose of this survey, a
census of enterprises employing 10 or more persons and operating within NACE
Rev. 2 Sections C to L, Divisions 69 to 74, Section N and Group 95.1 are
considered.
Apart from the annual
benchmarking indicators, the ICT survey incorporates an annual ad-hoc module,
with the aim of measuring the introduction and progress of new technologies.
Data collection occurs during the
first quarter of the reference year and asks about events occurring either in
the present or in the previous year, depending on the particular question. Enterprises receive the questionnaire by mail
in February. Non-respondents are then
chased by a team of survey interviewers during the second round of data
collection.
The data collected is being partly financed by a grant provided by the European Commission.
Accuracy and
reliability of data
Information on the accuracy and
reliability of data can be viewed in a dedicated quality report on the NSO’s
metadata website.
Timeliness and
punctuality of data
A news release is published
locally in the first quarter following the end of the reference year and data
is transmitted to Eurostat in the fourth quarter of the reference year.
Accessibility and
clarity of data
After the collection of data, a
quality report is produced and sent annually to Eurostat. A similar report is available on the NSO’s
metadata website.
The dedicated news release is
made available on the NSO’s website.
Moreover, in the past, publications related to ICT usage and e-commerce
in enterprises were published. These
were the ‘Survey on ICT Usage of Enterprises 2003’ and ‘ICT Usage by Enterprises and Households’ for reference years 2010 and
2011. These publications are
available on the NSO’s website.
Coherence and
comparability/consistency of data
The main benchmarking indicators for the digital
agenda have been collected since 2005 and are consistently comparable over
time.
The model questionnaire used locally is the same
one used in all European Union member states. Minor differences may result from
discrepancies in the survey-vehicle, in the treatment of non-response, and in
the interviewing period. However, differences are minimal particularly in view
of a common methodology.
ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises data
collection is unique and thus cross-checking with other domains is not
possible. Enterprises' background information is comparable with other enterprise
internal data included in Job Vacancies Statistics (JVS), Short-term Business Statistics
(STSB), and the Business Register (BR).
Questionnaire | Metadata