19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer European Commission An initiative of the Hannes Selhofer empirica GmbH 19 th Bled eConference – "eValues" 05 June 2006 Measuring e-Business Processes Experiences from the e-Business surveys 2005 & 2006

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer Table of Contents Background Method used by e-Business Objectives and focus of the surveys Challenges in Overview Challenges in Questionnaire Design Technical / systems perspective Functional perspective Impact perspective Recommendations

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer e-Business Surveys 2005 & 2006 Survey approach CATI method No cut-off by firm size Since 2005: only computer-using companies Different industries, with a focus on manufacturing Field-work outsourced to market research company Scope 2005: 5,200 interviews, 7 countries 2006: 14,000 interviews, ~30 countries Field-work just completed – first results by end of June Previous surveys: 2002, 2003

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer Survey objectives Enable informed policy decisions Test assumptions on current e-business activity (what is 'state-of-the-art' ?) Enable comparisons by industry / company size / country Provide data basis for further research activities Specific questions Studies on ICT impact on firm level / industry level using factor analysis & other statistical methods Ultimately: productivity growth in firms

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer e-Business as "… intra- and inter-firm processes…" – Activity Based Firm-Theory GovernmentConsumers e-Transactions e-Commerce e-Business e-Interactions c-Commerce "Automated business processes (intra- and inter-firm over computer-mediated networks" Company

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer Challenges to cope with (1/3) Questionnaire design Manufacturing perspective not 100% applicable to other sectors Construction, tourism, health, public sector, … Use of different instruments too costly Small enterprise or large enterprise perspective? Population and sampling Adequate definition of the population Cut-offs (e.g. computer / internet using companies, by size) Sector definitions Reliability of business directories for sampling

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer Challenges to cope with (2/3) Telephone interviews: natural limitations Time constraint (20 min. maximum) No change of target person Questionnaire: breadth vs. depth Increasing refusal rate ICT professional over-researched "No-interview" policy in many large firms ICT outsourcing Limited information about technical issues No access to background data Turnover, profit, …

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer Challenges to cope with (3/3) Data presentation The weighting issue By share of employment In % of enterprises Use of compound indices The benchmarking dilemma the more ICT the better … ?

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer Questionnaire design: different types of questions Technologies & systems perspective Hardware and software systems used Communication networks used Functional perspective Which processes are ICT supported and how? Amount of e-transactions? Impact perspective What is the effect of this activity? What has changed in the company?

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer 1. Technologies and systems perspective Examples Type of internet access ERP use CRM use SCM use EDI, XML & other e- standards used RFID use W-LAN use Security measures used (e.g. secure server technology) Advantages +Mostly easy to ask and to understand +Time efficient in telephone interviews +Includes important 'basics' Challenges -Does not tell us what the system is actually used for -Bias towards large firms – small firms use work-around solutions -Gets complicated if different systems are being used

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer 2. Functional perspective (i) Examples B9: "Does your company enable direct customer booking processes by means of ICT which were previously dealt with by intermediaries such as travel agents?" A5: "Can employees of your company access your computer system remotely from outside the company?" D5f: "Does your company send e-invoices to customers in the public sector?" D6: "Please estimate the percentage of invoices your company sends as e-invoices." E8: "Which of the following sourcing or procurement related processes does your company support by specific ICT solutions?" … (c) order goods or services … F13: "Is your company's ICT system linked to the ICT system of (a) suppliers / (b) customers?"

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer 2. Functional perspective (ii) Advantages +More informative about actual activity in firms +More flexible than questions on systems +Can better be adapted to smaller firms Challenges +Some concepts difficult to paraphrase +Different understanding of what is included or not (e.g. "collaborative design", "e-invoice") +Many decisions involved on how broad / narrow a question should be +More time consuming to ask – 'opportunity cost' in interviews

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer 3. Impact perspective (i) 'Objective' impact: Correlation analysis of e-business activity with firm performance (if data available) Perceived impact Direct questions on quantitative or qualitative effects Examples H4: "In what ways have ICT influenced the business of your company? (…) for each of the following whether ICT has had a positive, a negative or no influence at all: (a) revenue growth, (b) the efficiency of business processes, (c) … H8: "Do you expect that ICT will have a high, medium, low or no impact on the following … in your company in the future:" (a) …, (b) …

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer 3. Impact perspective (ii) Advantages +Allows to quantify impact +Use of established, accepted statistical methods +Can build on substantial research record Challenges +Data availability +'Pseudo-objectivity'? +Validity of results: cause and effect? Advantages +Data can be directly collected +Quick barometer for the overall experience Challenges +Bias against confirming negative experience +Possibly a cultural bias +Quantification of results hardly possible – no exact measurement Perceived impact'Objective' impact

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer Recommendations Consider ways of using specific instruments for non-manufacturing industries Combination of different perspectives in questionnaire design Beyond EU: international dimension It's not just the figures: combination of methods Case study approach Helps to understand concepts and explain figures Adds value for users in policy and industry Context and assessment in reporting results!

19 th Bled eConference, 06 June Hannes Selhofer More information Firms selling goods/services online (1995 – 2004) Source: e-Business (Survey 2005) Data weighted by employment. Base: EU-7 (CZ, DE, ES, FR, IT, PL, UK). Based on questions about the starting point of buying/selling online.