Statistics Sweden

Innovation, Business sector production and Research 

Statistics Sweden
ESA/NUP/INF
Solna strandväg 86
SE-171 54 Solna

Data on the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage and e-commerce in enterprises are survey data. They are collected by the National Statistical Institutes or Ministries and are in principle based on Eurostat's annual model questionnaires on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises.

Large part of the data collected is used to measure the progress in the implementation of one of the main political priorities of the European Commission for 2019 to 2024 – A Europe fit for the digital age. Part of this is the "European strategy for data", envisioning a single market for data to ensure the EU's global competitiveness and data sovereignty, in which context a comprehensive set of new rules for all digital services was proposed: the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, which are centrepieces of the EU digital strategy. Furthermore, the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented a new “EU cybersecurity strategy”, which is intended to bolster the EU's collective resilience against cyber threats, safeguard a global and open internet and protect EU values and the fundamental rights of its people. Furthermore, data will allow monitoring the progress towards the Commission’s vision for Europe’s digital transformation by 2030 presented on 9 March 2021. This vision for the EU's digital decade evolves around four cardinal points: Skills, Digital transformation of businesses, Secure and sustainable digital infrastructures, and Digitalisation of public services.

The aim of the European survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises is to collect and disseminate harmonised and comparable information at European level. 

 NACE Rev.2 2008

All economic activities in the scope of Annex I of the Commission Regulation are intended to be included in the general survey, covering enterprises with 10 or more employees and self-employed persons. These activities are NACE Rev. 2 sections: C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, M, N, and division 95.1.

Micro-enterprises are not included in the survey.

The model questionnaire on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises provides a large variety of variables covering among others the following areas:
 

-          Access to and use of the Internet

-          E-Commerce sales

-          Data utilisation, sharing, analytics and trading

-          Use of cloud computing services

-          Artificial Intelligence

-          Invoicing

-          ICT and the environment 

The annual model questionnaires and the European businesses statistics compliers’ manual for ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises comprise definitions and explanations regarding the topics of the survey.

The statistical unit is 'enterprise'.

The definition of the statistical unit 'enterprise' used in the survey was changed and implemented in the survey in 2023. This has resulted in a time-series break.

Before 2023 the frame population in the Swedish Business Register (BR) also consisted of enterprise units, but the enterprise unit was equal to the legal unit in most cases, only in 37 cases did the enterprise unit consist of more than one legal unit. In 2023 the frame population has been updated and now includes approximately 53 000 enterprise units consisting of more than one legal unit.

Target Population

As required by Annex of the Commission Implementing Regulation, enterprises with 10 or more employees and self-employed persons shall be covered by the survey.

Not applicable

All the territory of the country

Years 2022 and 2023.

 Not applicable

Percentages of enterprises, percentages of turnover, and percentages of employees and self-employed persons.

The reference period defined in the Eurostat model questionnaire was followed for all variables.

Complementary national legislation constituting the legal basis for the survey on the use of ICT in enterprises:

The obligation to provide information applies according to the Act (2001: 99) on the official statistics. The statistics are also regulated by the Ordinance (2001: 100) on the official statistics and Statistics Sweden's regulations (SCB-FS 2022:30).

Statistics Sweden is the only producer of official statistics for ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. 

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

At national level : 

The national policy is to use the p-percent rule, which means a cell is considered sensitive if the biggest contributor to the cell can be estimated with an error within P% of the true value.

Data are transmitted via eDamis (encrypted) and delivered to a secure environment where they are treated. Flags are added for confidentiality in case results must not be disclosed.

At national level : 

The national policy is to supress cells classified as sensitive according to the p-percent rule. The software TauArgus is used for confidentiality control and cell suppression, including secondary suppression when needed.

There is a release calendar for the statistical outputs. This calendar is publicly accessible (see 8.2.).

Publishing Calendar

The national results will be available online from 08:00 November 30th, 2023, as a press release together with an online tool suitable to extract time series from the national statistical database.

Annual

The national results will be accessible online on November 30th, 2023, on Statistics Sweden’s website. They will be presented in the form of a press release together with an online tool specifically created for extracting time series data from the national statistical database.

A document explaining breaks in the time series will also be published simultaneously.

The results will be presented on November 30th, 2023, in the form of a press release together with an online tool specifically created for extracting time series data from the national statistical database. The press release will be available in Swedish and English. 

See detailed section 10.3.1.

Results for selected variables collected in the framework of this survey are available for all participating countries on Digital economy and society of Eurostat website.

At national level :

Results are published at national level in the national statistical database on Statistics Sweden's website.

Statistics Sweden’s microdata on individuals and enterprises is covered by secrecy, but you can access anonymised microdata following a confidentiality assessment, if Statistics Sweden considers that you have the grounds to process the data. For more information see: Ordering microdata

Not requested

Not requested

There will be three methodological documents available at Statistics Sweden's external web page, on quality, production, detailed description of the content and on the break in time series. These documents will be published alongside the national results on November 30th, 2023.

Not requested

There are two methodological documents (only available in Swedish) published at Statistics Sweden's external web page; on quality, production, and detailed description of the content.

In addition, a document explaining breaks in the time series will also be published.

The European businesses statistics compliers’ manual for ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises provides guidelines and standards for the implementation of the surveys. It is updated every year according to the changed contents of the model questionnaires.

At national level :

The survey refers to Sweden's official statistics (SOS). Therefore special rules apply for quality and accessibility, see the Act (2001:99) and the Ordinance (2001:100) on official statistics and Statistics Sweden's regulations (SCB-FS 2022:30) on quality for official statistics.

At European level, the recommended use of the annual Eurostat model questionnaire aims at improving comparability of the results among the countries that conduct the survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. Moreover, the Methodological Manual provides guidelines and clarifications for the implementation of the surveys.

At national level:

The quality and efficiency are gradually improved through methodological development. Methodological competence is also used to evaluate the official statistics annually. To follow the evaluations, a manual for evaluation support has been produced. Statistic Sweden's regulation on evaluation of quality of official statistics (SCB-FS 2022:23).

European level : 

At European level, European Commission users (e.g. DG CNECT, DG GROW, DG JUST, DG REGIO, DG JRC) are the principal users of the data on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises and contribute in identifying/defining the topics to be covered. Hence, main users are consulted regularly (at hearings, task forces, ad hoc meetings) for their needs and are involved in the process of the development of the model questionnaires at a very early stage.

User needs are considered throughout the whole discussion process of the model questionnaires aiming at providing relevant statistical data for monitoring and benchmarking of European policies.

National level :

European level : 

At European level, contacts within the Commission, the OECD and other stakeholders give a clear picture about the key users' satisfaction as to the following data quality aspects: accuracy and reliability of results, timeliness, satisfactory accessibility, clarity and comparability over time and between countries, completeness and relevance. Overall users have evaluated positively (good, very good) the data quality on the ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises.

National level :

Not available 

Detailed information is available in “ Annex I _ Completeness “ excel file - related to questionnaire, coverage, additional questions.

Not requested. 

Comments on reliability and representativeness of results and completeness of dataset

These comments reflect overall standard errors reported for the indicators and breakdowns in section 13.2.1 (Sampling error - indicators) and the rest of the breakdowns for national and European aggregates, as well as other accuracy measurements. The estimated standard error should not exceed 2pp for the overall proportions and should not exceed 5pp for the proportions related to the different subgroups of the population (for those NACE aggregates for the calculation and dissemination of national aggregates). If problems were found, these could have implications for future surveys (e.g. need to improve sampling design, to increase sample sizes, to increase the response rates).

More detailed information is available in “ Annex II. _ Accuracy “ excel file - related to European aggregates, comments on reliability and use of flag.

For calculation of the standard error see 13.2.1.1.

Standard error (for selected indicators and breakdowns)

Precision measures related to variability due to sampling, unit non-response (the size of the subset of respondents is smaller than the size of the original sample) and other (imputation for item non-response, calibration etc.) are not (yet) required from the Member states for all indicators.  Eurostat will make basic assumptions to compute these measures for all indicators produced (e.g. stratified random sampling assuming as strata the crossing of the variables “Number of employees and self-employed persons” and “Economic Activity” as it was defined in the 3 tables of section 18.1).

More detailed information is available in“ Sample and standard error tables 2023 “ excel file – worksheets starting with “Standard error".

Calculation of the standard error

Various methods can be used for the calculation of the standard error for an estimated proportion. The aim is to incorporate into the standard error the sampling variability but also variability due to unit non-response, item non-response (imputation), calibration etc. In case of census / take-all strata, the aim is to calculate the standard errors comprising the variability due to unit non-response and item non-response.

See detailed sections below.

See concept 18.1.1. A) Description of  frame population.

The over-coverage issue arises from enterprises that have either been discontinued or merged, and this occurs due to delays in reporting to the registry. Generally, the coverage is robust, and the impact of coverage errors on overall estimate uncertainty is considered minor. Out of the total sample size of 4 640, 6 cases were identified as over-coverage. Consequently, the over-coverage rate in the sample stands at 0.1293%, and it is assumed to be representative of the over-coverage rate in the entire sampling frame.

Not requested

Measurement errors mainly occur because the questions are not clear, the answer options are not comprehensive and/or mutually exclusive. The extent of the measurement errors and the impact on the uncertainty is difficult to assess in terms of size.

To prevent measurement errors, great importance is placed on formulating unambiguous questions that are simple to understand and answer. The submitted responses and follow-up contacts with respondents indicate that the measurement errors mainly concern quantitative variables regarding e-commerce. The respondents can sometimes also have difficulty understanding and interpreting certain qualitative variables. An example of this is when a enterprise uses a technology that is requested in the questionnaire, but the technology is not specifically mentioned in the list of examples, so they answer that the enterprise does not use the technology in question. 

See detailed sections below.

See detailed sub-concepts below.

The following table contains the number of units (i.e. enterprises), by type of response to the survey and by the percentage of these values in relation to the gross sample size.

To prevent measurement errors, great importance is placed on formulating unambiguous questions that are simple to understand and answer. The submitted responses and follow-up contacts with respondents indicate that the measurement errors mainly concern quantitative variables regarding e-commerce. The respondents can sometimes also have difficulty understanding and interpreting certain qualitative variables. An example of this is when a enterprise uses a technology that is requested in the questionnaire, but the technology is not specifically mentioned in the list of examples, so they answer that the enterprise does not use the technology in question. 

1. In addition to the Swedish questionnaire, an English version is constructed and distributed to enable respondents who do not speak Swedish to provide their answers conveniently

2. It is mandatory to respond to all questions in the survey, including those that are listed as optional in the implementing act

3. Following the second written reminder, emails are sent out to priority enterprises, containing medium-sized and large enterprises, as well as substantial e-commerce enterprises, that have not yet submitted their responses.

Not available

Respondents who responded 'Yes' to question 'F1.a)' (=corresponding to question 28a) in the national questionnaire) were supposed to receive question 'F2' (=corresponding to question 29 in the national questionnaire). However, due to an error, a few enterprises did not receive 'F2' even though they had answered 'Yes' to 'F1.a).' Among the enterprises that affirmed 'Yes' to question 'F1.a)', 1.64% failed to respond to question 'F2'.

Other comments relating to the item non-response

No significant processing errors have been identified.

Not requested

See detailed section below.

Not applicable

European level : 

Data are to be delivered to Eurostat in the fourth quarter of the reference year (due date for the finalised dataset is 5th October). European results are released before the end of the survey year or in the beginning of the year following the survey year (T=reference year, T+0 for indicators referring to the current year, T+12 months for other indicators referring to the previous year e.g. e-commerce).

At national level : 

Data collection start in February and end in August. The nation results are released by the end of November, resulting in a time lag of 10 months.

 See detailed section below.

The data was transmitted to Eurostat and adapted to the specified format during the entirety of September. The completed dataset was officially delivered on October 4th.

The model questionnaire is generally used by the countries that conduct the survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. Due to (small) differences in translation, in the used survey vehicle, in non-response treatment or different routing through the questionnaire, some results for some countries may be of reduced comparability. In these cases, notes are added in the data.

Detailed information on differences in the wording of the questions in the national questionnaires is available in “ Annex I _ Completeness “ excel file - related to questionnaire, coverage, additional questions.

Not applicable

See section below.

The length of comparable time series depends on the module and the variable considered within each survey module. Additional information is available in annexes attached to the European metadata.

In survey year 2023 the national definition of the statistical unit ‘enterprise’ was changed. Before 2023 the statistical unit ‘enterprise’ in the Swedish Business Register (BR) was generally considered to be equal to the legal unit, only in 37 cases did the enterprise unit consist of more than one legal unit. In 2023 the frame population was updated to includes approximately 53,000 enterprise units consisting of more than one legal unit.

To measure enterprise units consisting of more than one legal unit a representative was chosen, i.e. one legal unit within the enterprise unit was sampled and chosen to represent the entirety of the enterprise unit it belongs to. The representative was chosen based on a set of predetermined criteria:

1. industry affiliation (NACE)
2. number of employees
3. turnover.

I.e. the selection of the representative is primarily based on the legal units whose industry affiliation is closest to that of the enterprise unit. Secondly, the representative is chosen based on personnel intensity, selecting the legal entity with the highest number of employees. Thirdly, the representative is chosen based on the legal entity with the highest turnover.

This has resulted in time series break for all recurring variables in the survey. A report concerning the time series break can be read here: Break in Series. Changes in ICT Usage in Enterprises and Innovation in the Enterprise Sector (scb.se)

Not applicable

 Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

In accordance with national policy, data revisions are categorized into three types:

A. Continuous Revisions (Planned and Recurring): These revisions are conducted on a routine basis, following a planned sequence of reports for specific statistics.
B. Revisions due to Changes in Methods or Definitions (Planned and One-time): These revisions occur due to alterations in methods or definitions, typically aimed at improving reliability. Changes in terms, definitions, or classifications result in a modification of the statistical content, often requiring adjustments to handle breaks in time series. These revisions are of a one-time nature.
C. Corrections (Unplanned Revisions): These revisions, beyond standard routines, are necessary in response to errors discovered after regular reporting or the addition of new information. The decision to make corrections depends on the impact these errors have on the statistical values, determining the necessity and timing of the correction.

Revisions made in response to incorrect statistical values, whether due to errors discovered after regular reporting or the addition of new information, may require more than standard procedures. The decision to implement a correction depends on the consequences for the statistical values and when the need for correction occurs. In such cases, it is crucial to consider the overall impact on reported statistics. Initially, the significance of corrections in relation to the reported statistical values and their reliability should be evaluated. Additionally, the informational value of the correction must be evaluated before preparing the revised report.

Selecting an appropriate timing for the correction is vital, considering the importance of the change and the reference period of the statistics. In the case of significant corrections, it is recommended to evaluate whether users should receive advance notification about the upcoming correction, and if so, the method and timing of this communication should be revealed. It is essential to identify suitable communication channels; although notifications can be sent via e-mail, it is crucial to ensure that all users are also informed through the website where the statistical values are published.

Providing clear and comprehensive information about the corrections is essential, particularly in an additional statement associated with the statistics. The reason for the correction should be included.

 Not requested

A) Frame population description and distribution

The sampling frame for the survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises 2023 consists of all active enterprises in the Swedish Business Register (BR) classified into the economic activities (based on NACE Rev 2) 10-82 and 95.1 (excluding 64-67, 76) and institutional sector codes (INSEKT 2014) 111000, 112000, 113000. A version of the BR established in November year 2022 is used. Enterprises with 10 or more employees are included.

For more information see concept 18.1.1.

B) Sampling design - Sampling method

By the implementation of the statistical unit ‘enterprise’ in the survey from 2023, the sampling is done on the enterprise level while the data collection is done for the legal units. Stratified simple random sampling method with Neyman (optimal) allocation is applied to select the enterprises. For each sampled enterprise we include the head legal unit and other legal units who has 10 or more employees. The responding legal unit data are first consolidated to enterprise level, then weighted within strata to population level.

This approach is chosen because of the vast number of enterprises with two or more legal units in the BR frame at Statistics Sweden as mentioned in 3.5 Statistical unit. By Swedish law we may not share which legal units that are in the enterprise therefore we cannot ask the head legal unit or one representative to respond for the other legal units. Due to large response burden and great expense, we cannot collect data from all legal units for each sampled enterprise either. The limit of choosing 10 or more employees is set after the considering of expenses and the quality of the results.

A description of how the enterprises is sampled is given as follows:

The sampling method that is used is stratified simple random sample. Enterprises with 200 or more employees are censused. The stratification of the sampling frame for enterprises with 10-199 is based on economic activity NACE Rev 2 and number of employees.

The NACE categories are done according to the European NACE aggregates (se NACE breakdown section in Eurostat Model Questionnaire for the Community Survey on ICT Usage and e-commerce in Enterprises 2023). For categories of number of employees, se Size Classes for enterprises with 10 or more employees in 13.2.1.1. e). The final number of strata is 242.

Neyman (optimum) allocation is used to decide sample sizes in each stratum except for those strata where the number of employees are at least 200. In each stratum a random sample of enterprises is selected. Number of enterprises, number of employees, and total turnover are used as allocation variables. The stratum variance on the population level is calculated for each of the allocation variables. Required sample size in each stratum is calculated with respect to each of the allocation variables to achieve a specified precision, given in terms of a relative standard error. This means that Neyman allocation is performed three times and the final sample size in each stratum is chosen according to the allocation variable that gives the largest sample size.  The calculation formula is given as:

Where

= the number of sample size in each stratum

 = the total sample size for the survey and calculated as

= the selected precision

  = the sum of the allocation variable for the population

 = the standard deviation in stratum  with respect to the allocation variable

  = the number of strata

 = the population size for the survey

,  the proportion of the population in stratum h.

The minimum sample size in each stratum is five enterprises. Observe that the allocation only considers domains that agree with strata (or aggregates of strata), in other words, domains that cut across strata cannot be considered in the allocation. In addition, the allocation does not take possible non-response into account. The sample is coordinated over time and positively coordinated with the surveys Enterprises' IT expenditure and Community Innovation Survey to increase comparability between the three surveys.

C) Gross sample distribution

More detailed information is available in “ Sample and standard error tables 2023  “ excel file (Worksheet: GROSS SAMPLE)

D) Net sample distribution

More detailed information is available in “ Sample and standard error tables 2023  “ excel file (Worksheet: NET SAMPLE)

A) Description of frame population

 B) Frame population distribution

More detailed information is available in “ Sample and standard error tables 2023  “ excel file (Worksheet: FRAME POPULATION)

Annual

See detailed sections below.

Self-administrated web survey. The enterprises are invited to fill in a web questionnaire in Swedish or in English. If needed a PDF version will be sent to the respondent and answers will be collected through e-mail.

Edamis was utilized for the purpose of data validation.

Grossing-up procedures

The result is weighted by numbers of enterprises, numbers of employees and self-employed persons and turnover in the net sample depending on the variable. See section 13.2.1.1. B) Basic formula. Unit non-response is compensated by changing the denominator from the sample units to the responding units or the respondents’ turnover or number of employees depending on the variable. Post-stratification is not applied.

Item nonresponse is imputed only when the answer can be derived from other questions (so called " logical corrections").

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not available