19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 1Hannes Selhofer

European Commission

An initiative of the

Hannes Selhoferempirica GmbH

19th Bled eConference – "eValues" 05 June 2006

Measuring e-Measuring e-Business Processes Business Processes Experiences from the Experiences from the e-Business W@tche-Business W@tch surveys 2005 & 2006surveys 2005 & 2006

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 2Hannes Selhofer

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Background

Method used by e-Business W@tch

Objectives and focus of the surveys

Challenges in Overview

Challenges in Questionnaire Design

Technical / systems perspective

Functional perspective

Impact perspective

Recommendations

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 3Hannes Selhofer

e-Business Surveys 2005 & 2006e-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

Scope2005: 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

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 4Hannes Selhofer

Survey objectives Survey objectives

Enable informed policy decisionsTest 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 activitiesSpecific questions

Studies on ICT impact

• on firm level / industry level

• using factor analysis & other statistical methods

Ultimately: productivity growth in firms

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 5Hannes Selhofer

e-Business as "… intra- and inter-firm e-Business as "… intra- and inter-firm processes…" – Activity Based Firm-processes…" – Activity Based Firm-TheoryTheory

Government Consumers

e-Transactions

e-Commerce

e-Business

e-Interactions

c-Commerce

"Automated business processes (intra- and inter-firm over computer-mediated networks"

Company

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 6Hannes Selhofer

Challenges to cope with (1/3)Challenges to cope with (1/3)

Questionnaire designManufacturing 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 samplingAdequate definition of the population

• Cut-offs (e.g. computer / internet using companies, by size)

• Sector definitions

Reliability of business directories for sampling

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 7Hannes Selhofer

Challenges to cope with (2/3)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 outsourcingLimited information about technical issues

No access to background data Turnover, profit, …

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 8Hannes Selhofer

Challenges to cope with (3/3)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 … ?

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 9Hannes Selhofer

Questionnaire design: Questionnaire design: different types of questions different types of questions

Technologies & systems perspectiveHardware and software systems used

Communication networks used

Functional perspectiveWhich processes are ICT supported and how?

Amount of e-transactions?

Impact perspectiveWhat is the effect of this activity?

What has changed in the company?

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 10Hannes Selhofer

1. Technologies and systems 1. Technologies and systems perspectiveperspective

ExamplesType 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

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 11Hannes Selhofer

2. Functional perspective (i)2. Functional perspective (i)

ExamplesB9: "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?"

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 12Hannes Selhofer

2. Functional perspective (ii)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

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 13Hannes Selhofer

3. Impact perspective (i)3. Impact perspective (i)

'Objective' impact: Correlation analysis of e-business activity with firm performance (if data available)

Perceived impactDirect questions on quantitative or qualitative effects

ExamplesH4: "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) …

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 14Hannes Selhofer

3. Impact perspective (ii)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

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 15Hannes Selhofer

RecommendationsRecommendations

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 methodsCase study approach

• Helps to understand concepts and explain figures

• Adds value for users in policy and industry

Context and assessment in reporting results!

19th Bled eConference, 06 June 2006 16Hannes Selhofer

More informationMore information

Firms selling goods/services online (1995 – 2004)

Source: e-Business W@tch (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.

www.ebusiness-watch.org info@ebusiness-watch.org

0

10

20

30

40

50

<95 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04

PublishingTourismPharmaFoodConstruction

hannes.selhofer@empirica.com