This is a summary of the keypoints taken from the
results of the first
questionnaire.
-
All participating companies have completed this questionnaire. The data
was received between November and February and analysed in February
1998.
-
A total of 29 questionnaires were analysed, 15 completed
by Scottish companies and 14 completed by London companies.
-
18 questionnaires were returned in print format, 9
in Scotland and 9 in London. 11 questionnaires were returned in electronic
format, 6 in Scotland and 5 in London.
The results have been analysed separately for each
question in order to highlight any differences or similarities between
the two locations. The sample groups are very small, so the results must
be interpreted with caution. The data can only be taken as an illustration
of the current situation for the responding companies, it cannot be taken
as representative of the current situation for SMEs in general. Since the
sample sizes were so small the results have not been expressed in percentages.
It should be noted that the questionnaire was aimed
at the individual rather than the company. However, as many of these companies
are quite small and the person answering the questions quite senior, it
is likely that some of the answers may have been answered for the whole
company rather than the individual.
Number of Employees in your company?
| Employees |
Scotland |
London |
Total
|
| 2-9 |
5
|
3
|
8 |
| 10-20 |
4
|
3
|
7 |
| 21-50 |
3
|
6
|
9 |
| 51-100 |
3
|
2
|
5 |
| Total Responses |
15 |
14 |
29 |
Where do you market your goods/services? Which
is your primary market for goods/services? Does your company import goods/services?
The answers given in response to these questions
were similar from both Scotland and London. Their home market seems to
be the most important followed by the rest of the UK. The majority of companies
do not import goods or services.
What sources do you currently use for business
information?
This was a "tick all that apply" question so there
are more responses than there were companies participating.
| Source of
Information |
Total |
| Printed |
28 |
| External Agencies |
20 |
| Electronic |
22 |
| External Personal
Contacts |
24 |
| Broadcast Services |
12 |
| Internal Contacts/Sources |
19 |
Total Responses
|
125 |
-
Numbers for Scotland and London were very similar in
response to this question.
-
Only one London company, did not use printed sources
of information.
-
Four London companies reported that they did not use
electronic sources of information yet three of those four companies have
their own web pages.
Please indicate any type of information you currently
use in Paper Version.
Please state which, if any you would consider to be your most
important source for information.
-
Out of 35 different types of information sources in
paper version these were voted top sources :
journals
newspapers
product brochures
dictionaries
maps
company accounts
-
Sources considered to be of least importance included
patents and sources for distributors.
-
223 responses were received from 15 Scottish companies
and 172 responses were received from 14 London companies.
-
In response to the most important source : Newspapers
and journals were considered the most important sources for information
by companies in Scotland and in London. Eleven other types of information
were also considered to be the most important but in each case by just
one company.
Please indicate any type of information you use
in Electronic Format.
Please state which, if any, of the above you would consider to
be your most important source for information.
-
Out of 35 different types of information sources in
electronic format these were voted top sources:
product information
maps
newspapers
journals
competitor
customer
dictionaries
-
Sources considered to be of least importance included
tenders, grant information and sources for distributors.
-
13 Scottish companies made 72 responses. Two companies
made no response to this question but they were not the same two companies
that reported non-use of electronic resources in answer to Question 6.
-
11 London companies made 48 responses. In response
to Question 6 however only 10 out of the 14 companies reported using electronic
sources for business information.
-
In response to the most important electronic information
source product information and journals came top, followed
by market information. Eight other types of information were also
considered to be the most important but in each case by just one company.
Does your company have an information or library
service?
Less than half (12) of the (29) companies taking
part responded yes to having an information or library service.
How long has your company been connected to the
internet?
| Connection
Time |
Scotland |
London |
Total |
| < 3 months |
|
4 |
4 |
| 3-11 months |
6 |
4 |
10 |
| 1-2 years |
8 |
3 |
11 |
| > 2 years |
1 |
3 |
4 |
| Total Responses |
15 |
14 |
29 |
-
14 out of 15 Scottish companies reported internet connection
times of 2 years or less.
-
11 out of 14 London companies reported internet connection
times of 2 years or less.
Do you use the internet?
| Do you use
the internet? |
Total |
| on your desk |
20 |
| elsewhere in
the company |
8 |
| via an intermediary |
2 |
| none of the above |
1 |
| Total Responses |
31 |
-
Two companies, one in Scotland and one in London, submitted
more than one response to this question.
-
Two companies, one from each location, reported that
access to the internet was via an intermediary. The latter two companies
were both in the 21 - 50 size band.
-
The specified "none of the above" result is
quoted below: -
-
"Use the internet on my home computer"
-
One Scottish company qualified their response as quoted
below,
-
"We use the internet for business purposes in
many different ways in the office, home and while out on the road."
The most common response from participants in both
locations was personal use of the internet on their own desks.
Approximately what percentage of employees has
direct use of the internet?
-
The majority of companies in both locations have less
than half their employees connected to the internet i.e. nine Scottish
companies and twelve London companies.
-
The results were further analysed to examine the relationship
between company size and number of employees connected to the internet.
In both Scotland and London the largest companies had
25% or less of their employees linked to the internet.
Which of these internet services do you use?
|
Scotland |
Scotland |
London |
London |
Total |
Total |
| Frequency of
Use |
Email |
Web |
Email |
Web |
Email |
Web |
| daily |
14 |
10 |
10 |
1 |
24 |
11 |
| weekly |
1 |
3 |
4 |
11 |
5 |
14 |
| monthly |
|
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
| less frequently |
|
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
| Total Responses |
15 |
14 |
14 |
13 |
29 |
27 |
The results are quite different in the two locations.
-
10 out of 15 Scottish companies report daily use of
both email and the web.
-
Only one London company reported daily use of the web
although 10 out of 14 reported daily use of email.
-
For the London companies the most common response was
weekly use of the web i.e. 11 out of 14 companies.
-
One company in Scotland and one company in London gave
no response for web usage.
Does your company have its own web pages?
Less than half (12) of the 29 companies taking part
have their own web site.
-
The results show an even split between yes/no answers
for the London companies.
-
More of the London companies have web pages than their
Scottish counterparts despite their being a slightly smaller group.
Does your company have an intranet?
Only 3 out of the 29 companies
taking part have an intranet
-
There were two Scottish companies operating intranets.
One company has 21-50 employees and has been connected to the internet
for more than two years. The other company has 10-20 employees and has
been connected for 1-2 years.
-
The London company with an intranet has 10-20 employees
and has been connected to the internet for less than 3 months.
Is internet training available to employees in
your company and have you received this training?
Ten out of the 29 participating companies had training
available for employees.
Eleven claimed to have recieved this training. It
seems likely that one of the participants had received training form elsewhere.
-
Training was available in one third of the Scottish
group and in slightly over one third of the London group.
-
Two London respondents, however, did report having
received training even though in response to Question 16 they replied that
their employer did not provide training.
-
One respondent said that they had received training
but that it was "not generally available" within their company.
-
Two other London respondents replied that they had
not received training even though it was available within their companies.
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