The Small Business Survey (SBS) is a large scale telephone survey commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) as a follow up to the Annual Survey of Small Businesses 2007/8. The main aims of the first SBS survey in 2010 were to:

• monitor key enterprise indicators (e.g. employment, turnover, finance, business growth) and how these have changed in comparison to previous surveys. In particular the survey measures characteristics of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) such as the proportions which are women and minority-ethnic led, and the proportions applying for and obtaining external finance


• gauge SME intentions, needs, concerns and the obstacles to fulfilling their potential
• provide evidence for possible Government interventions to assist SMEs
• create a database which can be used for follow-up studies among the general SME population, or sub-groups within it

The main aims of the next survey in 2012 were to:

• monitor key enterprise indicators and how these have changed in comparison to previous surveys, the 2010 SBS in particular
• create a database that can be used for follow-up studies among the general SME population, and sub-groups within it.

From 2015, the survey methodology has changed to include a longitudinal tracking element. The Longitudinal Small Business Survey: Secure Access is available under SN 8261.

Linking to other business studies
These data contain Inter-Departmental Business Register reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research.

The second edition (August 2014) includes data from 2012.

The Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) is a large-scale telephone survey of small business owners and managers commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). This survey is the latest in a series of annual and biennial Small Business Surveys (SBS) dating back to 2003.

In 2015, the survey methodology changed to include a longitudinal tracking element. A large sample size was recruited in Year One (2015) to establish a panel of businesses to be re-surveyed in subsequent years. This will allow a detailed analysis of how combinations of factors affect business performance.

The LSBS is intended to:

• Improve the understanding of what drives and constrains business performance and growth by addressing evidence gaps relating to the lags between many business activities and associated performance outcomes;
• Provide improved data on current business performance and the factors that affect this. The larger survey size will provide more reliable findings for key sub-groups of the business population and in relation to activities such as seeking finance, which are only relevant to part of the sample.

The data available covers all respondents over the course of the six years so far. Further information and research reports are available on the GOV.UK "https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/small-business-survey-reports"> Small Business Survey Reports webpage.

Controlled (Secure) Access Version
A Controlled (Secure) Access version of the LSBS is available from the UK Data Archive, subject to stringent secure access conditions. Extra variables include postcode district, 2-, 3-, and 4-digit SIC codes; and Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) reference numbers for linking to other business surveys. Small Business Survey data files for 2010 and 2012 containing 4-digit SIC codes and IDBR reference numbers are available under SN 6856. Users are strongly advised to check whether the safeguarded version is sufficient for their needs before considering an application for the Controlled (Secure) Access version.

Latest edition information
For the ninth edition (December 2024), the data and documentation have been updated to include Year 9 of the survey, completed during 2023-2024.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Small Business Survey (SBS) is a large scale telephone survey commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) as a follow up to the Annual Survey of Small Businesses 2007/8. The main aims of the first SBS survey in 2010 were to:monitor key enterprise indicators (e.g. employment, turnover, finance, business growth) and how these have changed in comparison to previous surveys. In particular the survey measures characteristics of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) such as the proportions which are women and minority-ethnic led, and the proportions applying for and obtaining external finance gauge SME intentions, needs, concerns and the obstacles to fulfilling their potentialprovide evidence for possible Government interventions to assist SMEscreate a database which can be used for follow-up studies among the general SME population, or sub-groups within itThe main aims of the next survey in 2012 were to:monitor key enterprise indicators and how these have changed in comparison to previous surveys, the 2010 SBS in particularcreate a database that can be used for follow-up studies among the general SME population, and sub-groups within it.From 2015, the survey methodology has changed to include a longitudinal tracking element. The Longitudinal Small Business Survey: Secure Access is available under SN 8261. Linking to other business studies These data contain Inter-Departmental Business Register reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research. The second edition (August 2014) includes data from 2012. Main Topics: The Small Business Survey covers the following main topics:the characteristics of SMEs such as their type (size, sector, legal status, etc)the characteristics of their owners and leadersrecent turnover and employment growthcapabilities in terms of their ability to innovate, export, train staff, etc.experience of accessing financeuse of business supportintentions to grow turnover and employmentthe needs and concerns, and the obstacles that prevent SMEs fulfilling their potential

Abstract

Research ICT Africa (RIA) is a non-profit, public interest, research entity which undertakes research on how information and communication technologies are being accessed and used in African countries. The aim is to measure the impact on lifestyles and livelihoods of people and households and to understand how informal businesses can prosper through the use of ICTs. This research can facilitate informed policy-making for improved access, use and application of ICT for social development and economic growth. RIA collects both supply-side and demand-side data. On the demand-side nationally representative surveys are conducted on ICT use and demand in African countries. This survey dataset consists of data collected by household and business surveys in thirteen African countries in 2011-2012.

Geographic coverage

The surveys had national coverage. Survey countries included Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Tunisia.

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The data is nationally representative on a household and individual level for individuals 16 years of age or older.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The random sampling was performed in four steps for households and businesses, and five steps for individuals. • Step 1: The national census sample frames was split into urban and rural Enumerator areas (EAs). • Step 2: EAs were sampled for each stratum using probability proportional to size (PPS). • Step 3: For each EA two listings were compiled, one for households and one for businesses. The listings serve as sample frame for the simple random sections. • Step 4: 24 Households and 10 businesses were sampled using simple random sample for each selected EA. • Step 5: From all household members 15 years or older or visitors staying the night at the house one was randomly selected based on simple random sampling.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) is a large-scale telephone survey of small business owners and managers commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). This survey is the latest in a series of annual and biennial Small Business Surveys (SBS) dating back to 2003. In 2015, the survey methodology changed to include a longitudinal tracking element. A large sample size was recruited in Year One (2015) to establish a panel of businesses to be re-surveyed in subsequent years. This will allow a detailed analysis of how combinations of factors affect business performance. The LSBS is intended to: Improve the understanding of what drives and constrains business performance and growth by addressing evidence gaps relating to the lags between many business activities and associated performance outcomes;Provide improved data on current business performance and the factors that affect this. The larger survey size will provide more reliable findings for key sub-groups of the business population and in relation to activities such as seeking finance, which are only relevant to part of the sample. The data available covers all respondents over the course of the six years so far. Further information and research reports are available on the GOV.UK Small Business Survey Reports webpage. Controlled (Secure) Access Version A Controlled (Secure) Access version of the LSBS is available from the UK Data Archive, subject to stringent secure access conditions. Extra variables include postcode district, 2-, 3-, and 4-digit SIC codes; and Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) reference numbers for linking to other business surveys. Small Business Survey data files for 2010 and 2012 containing 4-digit SIC codes and IDBR reference numbers are available under SN 6856. Users are strongly advised to check whether the safeguarded version is sufficient for their needs before considering an application for the Controlled (Secure) Access version.Latest edition information For the eighth edition (December 2023), the data and documentation have been updated to include Year Eight of the survey, completed during 2022-2023.

Abstract

This research was carried out in China between December 2011 and February 2013. Data was collected from 2,700 privately-owned and 148 state-owned firms.

The objective of Enterprise Surveys is to obtain feedback from businesses on the state of the private sector as well as to help in building a panel of enterprise data that will make it possible to track changes in the business environment over time, thus allowing, for example, impact assessments of reforms. Through interviews with firms in the manufacturing and services sectors, the survey assesses the constraints to private sector growth and creates statistically significant business environment indicators that are comparable across countries.

Usually Enterprise Surveys focus only on private companies, but in China, a special sample of fully state-owned establishments was included as this is an important part of the economy. Data on 148 state-owned enterprises is provided separately from the data of 2,700 private sector firms. To maintain comparability of the China Enterprise Surveys to surveys conducted in other countries, only the dataset of privately sector firms should be used.

Geographic coverage

Twenty-five metro areas: Beijing (municipalities), Chengdu City, Dalian City, Dongguan City, Foshan City, Guangzhou City, Hangzhou City, Hefei City, Jinan City, Luoyang City, Nanjing City, Nantong City, Ningbo City, Qingdao City, Shanghai (municipalities), Shenyang City, Shenzhen City, Shijiazhuang City, Suzhou City, Tangshan City, Wenzhou City, Wuhan City, Wuxi City, Yantai City, Zhengzhou City.

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is an establishment.The establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The whole population, or universe of the study, is the non-agricultural economy of firms with at least 5 employees and positive amounts of private ownership. The non-agricultural economy comprises: all manufacturing sectors according to the group classification of ISIC Revision 3.1: (group D), construction sector (group F), services sector (groups G and H), and transport, storage, and communications sector (group I). Note that this definition excludes the following sectors: financial intermediation (group J), real estate and renting activities (group K, except sub-sector 72, IT, which was added to the population under study), and all public or utilities sectors.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample for China ES was selected using stratified random sampling. Three levels of stratification were used in this country: industry, establishment size, and region.

Industry stratification was designed in the following way: the universe was stratified into 11 manufacturing industries and 7 services industries as defined in the sampling manual. Each manufacturing industry had a target of 150 interviews. Sample sizes were inflated by about 20% to account for potential non-response cases when requesting sensitive financial data and also because of likely attrition in future surveys that would affect the construction of a panel. Note that 100% government owned firms are categorized independently of their industrial classification. The 148 surveyed state-owned enterprises were categorized as a separate sector group to preserve the representativeness of other sector groupings for the private economy.

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the rollout: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees). For stratification purposes, the number of employees was defined on the basis of reported permanent full-time workers. This seems to be an appropriate definition of the labor force since seasonal/casual/part-time employment is not a common practice, except in the sectors of construction and agriculture.

Regional stratification was defined in twenty-five metro areas: Beijing (municipalities), Chengdu City, Dalian City, Dongguan City, Foshan City, Guangzhou City, Hangzhou City, Hefei City, Jinan City, Luoyang City, Nanjing City, Nantong City, Ningbo City, Qingdao City, Shanghai (municipalities), Shenyang City, Shenzhen City, Shijiazhuang City, Suzhou City, Tangshan City, Wenzhou City, Wuhan City, Wuxi City, Yantai City, Zhengzhou City.

The sample frame was obtained by SunFaith from SinoTrust.

The enumerated establishments were then used as the frame for the selection of a sample with the aim of obtaining interviews at 3,000 establishments with five or more employees. The quality of the frame was assessed at the onset of the project through calls to a random subset of firms and local contractor knowledge. The sample frame was not immune from the typical problems found in establishment surveys: positive rates of non-eligibility, repetition, non-existent units, etc.

Given the impact that non-eligible units included in the sample universe may have on the results, adjustments are needed when computing the appropriate weights for individual observations. The percentage of confirmed non-eligible units as a proportion of the total number of sampled establishments contacted for the survey was 31% (6,485 out of 20,616 establishments).

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The following survey instruments are available: - Services Questionnaire, - Manufacturing Questionnaire, - Screener Questionnaire.

The Services Questionnaire is administered to the establishments in the services sector. The Manufacturing Questionnaire is built upon the Services Questionnaire and adds specific questions relevant to manufacturing.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.

Cleaning operations

Data entry and quality controls are implemented by the contractor and data is delivered to the World Bank in batches (typically 10%, 50% and 100%). These data deliveries are checked for logical consistency, out of range values, skip patterns, and duplicate entries. Problems are flagged by the World Bank and corrected by the implementing contractor through data checks, callbacks, and revisiting establishments.

Response rate

The number of contacted establishments per realized interview was 7.24. This number is the result of two factors: explicit refusals to participate in the survey, as reflected by the rate of rejection (which includes rejections of the screener and the main survey) and the quality of the sample frame, as represented by the presence of ineligible units. The number of rejections per contact was 0.55.

Item non-response was addressed by two strategies: a- For sensitive questions that may generate negative reactions from the respondent, such as corruption or tax evasion, enumerators were instructed to collect the refusal to respond as a different option from don’t know. b- Establishments with incomplete information were re-contacted in order to complete this information, whenever necessary.

Survey non-response was addressed by maximizing efforts to contact establishments that were initially selected for interview. Attempts were made to contact the establishment for interview at different times/days of the week before a replacement establishment (with similar strata characteristics) was suggested for interview. Survey non-response did occur but substitutions were made in order to potentially achieve strata-specific goals.

This graph shows small B2B and B2C businesses responses to the survey question “When you think about how to run your organization most effectively, which of the following "keeps you up at night"?” For small businesses in the United States in 2012, a major concern was how to attract new customers. ** percent of B2C businesses and ** percent of B2B companies identified this issue as a major point of concern.

Graph and download economic data for Percent of Value of Loans, Small Business Administration (SBA) Backed, by Time that Pricing Terms Were Set and by Commitment, During Survey Week, Not Under Commitment, Domestic Banks (DISCONTINUED) (EBTSNXDBNQ) from Q3 2012 to Q2 2017 about SBA, pricing terms, percent, domestic, loans, banks, depository institutions, and USA.

United States Loan Officer Survey: MSF: Other Banks: Eased Somewhat data was reported at 8.000 % in Apr 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.800 % for Jan 2018. United States Loan Officer Survey: MSF: Other Banks: Eased Somewhat data is updated quarterly, averaging 5.200 % from Jan 2008 (Median) to Apr 2018, with 42 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21.200 % in Oct 2012 and a record low of 0.000 % in Jan 2012. United States Loan Officer Survey: MSF: Other Banks: Eased Somewhat data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.KA040: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey: Lending Policies for Small Firms. Senior Loan Officer Survey Questionnaire: For applications for C&I loans or credit lines—other than those to be used to finance mergers and acquisitions—from small firms that your bank currently is willing to approve, how have the maximum maturity of loans and credit lines changed over the past three months?

The Credit Conditions Survey focuses on financing sought by small businesses (1 to 99 employees). This dataset includes information on: request rates, approval rates, average amounts authorized, debt financing by term, debt financing by enterprise characteristics, the main reason for not seeking debt financing, the main intended use of debt financing, and the export destination.

This data set supports figure 1 and figure 2 in the Sector Mentoring Challenge Fund prospectus and is taken from the Small Business Survey 2012: SME employers.

Abstract

Cambodia Enterprise Survey 2012 (also known as Investment Climate Survey 2012) was conducted by the World Bank Cambodia country office and Asian Development Bank between February 2012 and February 2013. The survey formed analytical background for the Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) prepared by the World Bank in partnership with the government of Cambodia. The assessment was completed in August 2014.

The objectives of the 2014 Cambodia ICA are to provide up-to-date and fact-based analysis of the business environment for development partners, policymakers in the government, private sector, civil society, and outline priorities for improving business environment and suggest possible policy options for achieving them.

Cambodia Enterprise Survey 2012 was not conducted under the supervision of World Bank's Enterprise Analysis Unit, as other Enterprise Surveys, and therefore small variations in methodology are present.

Data from 472 registered establishments was analyzed. Stratified random sampling was used to select the surveyed businesses. Data was collected using face-to-face interviews.

The topics covered include firm characteristics, access to finance, sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is an establishment. An establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The universe of the study, is manufacturing, trade, tourism, and selected services. In terms of the International Standard Industrial Classification (Rev. 4) the following groups are included: manufacturing (group C), construction (group F), wholesale and retail trade (group G), transportation and storage (group H), accommodation and food services activities (group I), travel agency, tour operator, reservation service and related activity (79) and computer programming, consultancy and related activities (62). Note that this definition excludes agriculture (group A), mining and quarrying (group B), energy and water supply (groups D and E), and all other services (groups J to U) except for IT (62) and travel agency, tour operator, reservation service and related activity (79) which were included in the population under study.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Four levels of stratification were used in this country: sector, establishment size, location and formal status.

Sector stratification was designed in the following way: the universe was stratified into 5 sectors: (1) agroprocessing consisting of manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco, manufacture of wood and wood products and manufacture of rubber products (ISIC Rev. 4 codes 10-12 and 16), (2) manufacturing except agroprocessing (ISIC Rev. 4 group C except 10-12 and 16), (3) trade (ISIC Rev. 4 group G), (4) tourism (ISIC Rev. 4 group I and 79), and (5) other (ISIC Rev. 4 groups F and H and 62).

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the rollout: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees). For stratification purposes, the number of employees was defined on the basis of reported number of persons engaged daily in the last week as this was the only information available in the sampling frame.

Location stratification was defined in the five major urban economic centers: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampong Cham, Sihanouk Ville, and Battambang.

Stratification by formal status is done by distinguishing between firms that have the required registration with the Ministry of Commerce (formal firms) and those that lack the registration (informal firms).

The Establishment Listing 2009 (EL 2009), which was conducted during February-March 2009 by the National Institute of Statistics and the Ministry of Planning of Cambodia, was used as the sampling frame. The EL 2009 aimed at compiling basic statistics on establishments and constructing a comprehensive list of establishments. The establishment list was later used as a frame for the 2011 Economic Census.

The sample of firms that were interviewed for Cambodia Enterprise Survey 2007 was also used in the survey.

In order to have a sufficient number of firms outside Phnom Penh in the sample, firms in Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampong Cham, Sihanouk Ville were oversampled proportionally in each stratum defined by sector, size, and formality, such that the total number of sampled firms from Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampong Cham, Sihanouk Ville was approximately 50% in each of the strata (less if not enough firms outside Phnom Penh are available).

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire included most questions from the traditional Enterprise Survey Core Module. But there were some differences.

First, the survey collected more detailed information on some elements of the investment climate, such as firm registration (question 113), interest in the stock market (questions 102-106), and assessment of different investment locations (questions 107-108).

Second, detailed questions on revenues from supplying products/services and trade and the costs of inputs were asked (questions 132-135). It was found that some firms had difficulty providing this information for the whole year, but they were able to provide this information for subperiods. Also given poor bookkeeping in a lot of Cambodia businesses, firms were asked for the revenues and raw material costs for their main three products and other (remaining) products rather than for the total revenues and raw materials directly.

Third, detailed questions were asked on investment in and replacement values of machinery and equipment (questions 138 and 140). Firms were asked to provide information on components rather than total values, as firms had otherwise even more difficulty answering this question.

Response rate

Survey non-response was addressed by maximizing efforts to contact establishments that were initially selected for interview. Attempts were made to contact the establishment for interview at different times/days of the week before a replacement establishment (within the same stratum) was selected for interview. Survey non-response did occur but substitutions were made in order to potentially achieve strata-specific quota.

The number of contacted establishments per realized interview was 2.56. This number is the result of two factors: explicit refusals to participate in the survey, as reflected by the rate of rejection (which includes rejections of the screener and the main survey) as well as difficulties to locate firms and changes in sector activity. The number of refusals per contact actually made was 0.32.

Abstract

This research is a survey of unregistered businesses conducted in Cambodia between February 2012 and February 2013 as part of Cambodia Enterprise Survey 2012. 303 informal businesses were interviewed.

Cambodia Enterprise Survey 2012 (also known as Investment Climate Survey 2012) was conducted by the World Bank Cambodia country office and Asian Development Bank. The survey formed analytical background for the Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) prepared by the World Bank in partnership with the government of Cambodia. The assessment was completed in August 2014.

The objectives of the 2014 Cambodia ICA are to provide up-to-date and fact-based analysis of the business environment for development partners, policymakers in the government, private sector, civil society, and outline priorities for improving business environment and suggest possible policy options for achieving them.

Cambodia Enterprise Survey and Cambodia Informal Survey follow the same methodology, the only difference between them is a formal status of interviewed establishments: the dataset for Cambodia Enterprise Survey (also published in Microdata Library) only includes firms registered with the Ministry of Commerce and dataset for Informal Survey includes businesses not registered with the Ministry of Commerce.

Cambodia Enterprise Survey was not conducted under the supervision of World Bank's Enterprise Analysis Unit, as other Enterprise Surveys, and therefore small variations in methodology are present.

Stratified random sampling was used to select the surveyed businesses. Data was collected using face-to-face interviews.

The topics covered include firm characteristics, access to finance, sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is an establishment. An establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The universe of the study, is manufacturing, trade, tourism, and selected services. In terms of the International Standard Industrial Classification (Rev. 4) the following groups are included: manufacturing (group C), construction (group F), wholesale and retail trade (group G), transportation and storage (group H), accommodation and food services activities (group I), travel agency, tour operator, reservation service and related activity (79) and computer programming, consultancy and related activities (62). Note that this definition excludes agriculture (group A), mining and quarrying (group B), energy and water supply (groups D and E), and all other services (groups J to U) except for IT (62) and travel agency, tour operator, reservation service and related activity (79) which were included in the population under study.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Four levels of stratification were used in this country: sector, establishment size, location and formal status.

Sector stratification was designed in the following way: the universe was stratified into 5 sectors: (1) agroprocessing consisting of manufacture of food, beverages and tobacco, manufacture of wood and wood products and manufacture of rubber products (ISIC Rev. 4 codes 10-12 and 16), (2) manufacturing except agroprocessing (ISIC Rev. 4 group C except 10-12 and 16), (3) trade (ISIC Rev. 4 group G), (4) tourism (ISIC Rev. 4 group I and 79), and (5) other (ISIC Rev. 4 groups F and H and 62).

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the rollout: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees). For stratification purposes, the number of employees was defined on the basis of reported number of persons engaged daily in the last week as this was the only information available in the sampling frame.

Location stratification was defined in the five major urban economic centers: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampong Cham, Sihanouk Ville, and Battambang.

Stratification by formal status is done by distinguishing between firms that have the required registration with the Ministry of Commerce (formal firms) and those that lack the registration (informal firms).

The Establishment Listing 2009 (EL 2009), which was conducted during February-March 2009 by the National Institute of Statistics and the Ministry of Planning of Cambodia, was used as the sampling frame. The EL 2009 aimed at compiling basic statistics on establishments and constructing a comprehensive list of establishments. The establishment list was later used as a frame for the 2011 Economic Census.

The sample of firms that were interviewed for Cambodia Enterprise Survey 2007 was also used in the survey.

In order to have a sufficient number of firms outside Phnom Penh in the sample, firms in Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampong Cham, Sihanouk Ville were oversampled proportionally in each stratum defined by sector, size, and formality, such that the total number of sampled firms from Battambang, Siem Reap, Kampong Cham, Sihanouk Ville was approximately 50% in each of the strata (less if not enough firms outside Phnom Penh are available).

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The questionnaire included most questions from the traditional Enterprise Survey Core Module. But there were some differences.

First, the survey collected more detailed information on some elements of the investment climate, such as firm registration (question 113), interest in the stock market (questions 102-106), and assessment of different investment locations (questions 107-108).

Second, detailed questions on revenues from supplying products/services and trade and the costs of inputs were asked (questions 132-135). It was found that some firms had difficulty providing this information for the whole year, but they were able to provide this information for subperiods. Also given poor bookkeeping in a lot of Cambodia businesses, firms were asked for the revenues and raw material costs for their main three products and other (remaining) products rather than for the total revenues and raw materials directly.

Third, detailed questions were asked on investment in and replacement values of machinery and equipment (questions 138 and 140). Firms were asked to provide information on components rather than total values, as firms had otherwise even more difficulty answering this question.

Response rate

Survey non-response was addressed by maximizing efforts to contact establishments that were initially selected for interview. Attempts were made to contact the establishment for interview at different times/days of the week before a replacement establishment (within the same stratum) was selected for interview. Survey non-response did occur but substitutions were made in order to potentially achieve strata-specific quota.

The number of contacted establishments per realized interview was 2.56. This number is the result of two factors: explicit refusals to participate in the survey, as reflected by the rate of rejection (which includes rejections of the screener and the main survey) as well as difficulties to locate firms and changes in sector activity. The number of refusals per contact actually made was 0.32.

This statistic presents the number of Fortune 500 CEOs accessing selected social networks from 2012 to 2016. During the most recent survey period, it was found that 181 of the F500 CEOs had a LinkedIn account, making the social network the most popular among CEOs.

World Bank researchers with the support from local government of Minas Gerais conducted a field experiment to test which state actions work in getting informal firms to register. Brazil began a process of simplification of firm registration in 1996 with the introduction of the SIMPLES tax system which consolidated multiple taxes and contributions into a single payment, and also lowered the tax burden on small firms. Within Minas Gerais, the Minas Fácil service was started in 2005 with the purpose of additionally reducing the number of procedures and time taken to start a business. Minas Fácil is a one-stop-shop system, where firms obtain municipal, state, and federal tax registrations simultaneously instead of having to request these from separate offices. A listing survey was used to identify potentially informal firms, which were then randomized into four treatment groups and a control group. Survey data revealing a lack of knowledge about how to formalize motivated the first treatment, which was to provide information about how to register by means of a brochure and a dedicated helpline. A second treatment coupled this information with an exemption in the registration fees and free use of mandatory accounting services for a year to test if reducing registration costs would induce formalization. The third treatment randomly assigned municipal inspectors to firms, to see whether increased enforcement would get firms to formalize. The final treatment consists of having a neighboring firm visited by an inspector, to test whether there is a spillover impact of inspection on the formalization behavior of other firms. The baseline survey took place between May and August 2011. A very short phone survey of firms selected for the communication and free cost treatments was carried out between April 10 and April 18, 2012. The full follow-up survey consisted of an in-person survey fielded between July and September 2012.

Abstract

The survey was conducted in Ghana between December 2012 and July 2014 as part of the Africa Enterprise Survey 2013 roll-out, an initiative of the World Bank. The objective of the survey is to obtain feedback from enterprises on the state of the private sector as well as to help in building a panel of enterprise data that will make it possible to track changes in the business environment over time, thus allowing, for example, impact assessments of reforms. Through interviews with firms in the manufacturing and services sectors, the survey assesses the constraints to private sector growth and creates statistically significant business environment indicators that are comparable across countries.

Data from 720 establishments was analyzed. Stratified random sampling was used to select the surveyed businesses. The data was collected using face-to-face interviews.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs and labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90 percent of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is an establishment. An establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The whole population, or the universe, covered in the Enterprise Surveys is the non-agricultural private economy. It comprises: all manufacturing sectors according to the ISIC Revision 3.1 group classification (group D), construction sector (group F), services sector (groups G and H), and transport, storage, and communications sector (group I). Note that this population definition excludes the following sectors: financial intermediation (group J), real estate and renting activities (group K, except sub-sector 72, IT, which was added to the population under study), and all public or utilities sectors. Companies with 100% government ownership are not eligible to participate in the Enterprise Surveys.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample for Ghana was selected using stratified random sampling. Three levels of stratification were used in this country: firm sector, firm size, and geographic region.

Industry stratification was designed in the way that follows: the universe was stratified into four manufacturing industries (food, textiles and garments, chemicals and plastics, other manufacturing) and two service sectors (retail and other services).

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the Enterprise Surveys: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees).

Regional stratification for the Ghana ES was defined in four regions: Accra, North (Kumasi and Tamale), Takoradi, and Tema.

For the Ghana ES, several sample frames were used. The first was supplied by the World Bank and consists of enterprises interviewed in Ghana 2007. The World Bank required that attempts should be made to re-interview establishments responding to the Ghana 2007 survey where they were within the selected geographical regions and met eligibility criteria. Due to the fact that the previous round of surveys seemed to have utilized different stratification criteria (or no stratification at all) and due to the prevalence of small firms and firms located in the capital city in the 2007 sample the following convention was used. The presence of panel firms was limited to a maximum of 50% of the achieved interviews in each cell. That sample is referred to as the Panel.

The second frame was constructed using different lists acquired from relevant institutions in Ghana. The main lists used were obtained from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). These include: 1) The 2012 Firm Registry. The registry lacked information on firm employee size. 2) The list of firms paying VAT. The VAT dataset included a variable on firms; turnover. The VAT dataset and Firm Registry were merged by using the firms' identification number (TIN). VAT information was not available for all firms in the Firm Registry. 3) The list of Large Tax Payers. The Large Tax Payers file also lacked information on firm employee size.

Since firm size was missing from all lists mentioned above, after having discussed with GSS and with the local contractor the following methods were used to predict firm size. - All firms who were in the Firm Registry but not in the VAT dataset were considered to be micro firms and therefore not use in the current survey. - Firms who were in the Firm Registry and in the VAT dataset were considered to be small firms. - Firms in the Large Tax Payers dataset were considered medium or large firms. The original design was divided into two size groups: small firms and medium and large firms.

During fieldwork the GSS lists proved to be very inaccurate and not sufficient to reach the target sample design, As such they were complemented with additional lists of firms from the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Business Associations. The list from the Ghana Chamber of Commerce lacked information on firm employee size or firm turnover. Given the impact that non-eligible units included in the sample universe may have on the results, adjustments may be needed when computing the appropriate weights for individual observations. The percentage of confirmed non-eligible units as a proportion of the total number of sampled establishments contacted for the survey was 1.3% (26 out of 1,990 establishments).

Finally, a block enumeration was also undertaken in order to build an additional list. The block enumeration allowed to physically creating a list of establishments from which to sample from. A total of 41 blocks were enumerated in the four locations included in the project out of the total 804 blocks identified. The enumeration was conducted without major problems in the time planned. The list of enumerated firms contained 958 records eligible for main Enterprise Survey.

Note: Unlike the standard ES, the universe for the Ghana ES is characterized by the presence of 5 size categories. The category medium&large was added as stratum in order to sample from the GSS large payers list, while the category "unknow size" was included in order to sample the firms in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry list.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The following survey instruments are available: - Manufacturing Module Questionnaire - Services Module Questionnaire

The survey is fielded via manufacturing or services questionnaires in order not to ask questions that are irrelevant to specific types of firms, e.g. a question that relates to production and nonproduction workers should not be asked of a retail firm. In addition to questions that are asked across countries, all surveys are customized and contain country-specific questions. An example of customization would be including tourism-related questions that are asked in certain countries when tourism is an existing or potential sector of economic growth.

There is a skip pattern in the Service Module Questionnaire for questions that apply only to retail firms.

Cleaning operations

Data entry and quality controls are implemented by the contractor and data is delivered to the World Bank in batches (typically 10%, 50% and 100%). These data deliveries are checked for logical consistency, out of range values, skip patterns, and duplicate entries. Problems are flagged by the World Bank and corrected by the implementing contractor through data checks, callbacks, and revisiting establishments.

Response rate

Survey non-response must be differentiated from item non-response. The former refers to refusals to participate in the survey altogether whereas the latter refers to the refusals to answer some specific questions. Enterprise Surveys suffer from both problems and different strategies were used to address these issues.

Item non-response was addressed by two strategies: a- For sensitive questions that may generate negative reactions from the respondent, such as corruption or tax evasion, enumerators were instructed to collect "Refusal to respond" (-8) as a different option from "Don't know" (-9). b- Establishments with incomplete information were re-contacted in order to complete this information, whenever necessary.

Survey non-response was addressed by maximizing efforts to contact establishments that were initially selected for interview. Attempts were made to contact the establishment for interview at different times/days of the week before a replacement establishment (with similar strata characteristics) was suggested for interview. Survey non-response did occur but substitutions were made in order to potentially achieve

During a 2021 survey carried out among small businesses in the United States, ** percent of respondents stated that they paid for digital advertising. The average spending amounted to***4 U.S. dollars monthly, and ** percent were planning to keep or increase it over the following 12 months.

France BS: Retail: Volume: TC: Independent Small Business data was reported at 56.060 2007=100 in Mar 2014. This records an increase from the previous number of 55.260 2007=100 for Feb 2014. France BS: Retail: Volume: TC: Independent Small Business data is updated monthly, averaging 96.920 2007=100 from Jan 1990 (Median) to Mar 2014, with 291 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 203.380 2007=100 in Dec 1990 and a record low of 47.140 2007=100 in Aug 2012. France BS: Retail: Volume: TC: Independent Small Business data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of France. The data is categorized under Global Database’s France – Table FR.S016: Business Survey: Retail Sector: Bank of France: NAF Rev 2: 2007=100 .

2012 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT ADVANCED LEVEL EXAM... ADVANCED SUPPLEMENT... AGE ALLERGIES APPLICATION FOR EMP... APPRENTICESHIP ATTITUDES BUSINESS AND TECHNO... BUSINESSES CARDIOVASCULAR DISE... CARE OF DEPENDANTS CERTIFICATE OF SECO... CERTIFICATE OF SIXT... CHILD BENEFITS CHILDREN CHRONIC ILLNESS CITY AND GUILDS OF ... COHABITATION COMMUTING CONDITIONS OF EMPLO... DEBILITATIVE ILLNESS DEGREES DEPRESSION DIABETES DIGESTIVE SYSTEM DI... DISABILITIES DISABLED PERSONS DISMISSAL DISTANCE LEARNING DOMESTIC RESPONSIBI... EARLY RETIREMENT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND EDUCATIONAL CERTIFI... EDUCATIONAL COURSES EDUCATIONAL INSTITU... EDUCATIONAL LEVELS EDUCATIONAL OPPORTU... EMPLOYEES EMPLOYER SPONSORED ... EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT HISTORY EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES EMPLOYMENT SERVICES ENDOCRINE DISORDERS EPILEPSY ETHNIC GROUPS EVENING SCHOOLS FAMILIES FAMILY BENEFITS FAMILY MEMBERS FIELDS OF STUDY FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT FURNISHED ACCOMMODA... FURTHER EDUCATION GENDER GENERAL CERTIFICATE... GENERAL NATIONAL VO... GENERAL SCOTTISH VO... HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD HEALTH HEARING IMPAIRMENTS HIGHER EDUCATION HIGHER NATIONAL CER... HOLIDAY LEAVE HOME BASED WORK HOME OWNERSHIP HOURS OF WORK HOUSEHOLDS HOUSING BENEFITS HOUSING TENURE IMMIGRATION IN SERVICE TRAINING INDUSTRIES INTERNET USE JOB CHANGING JOB HUNTING JOB SEEKER S ALLOWANCE LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LABOUR FORCE LANDLORDS LEARNING DISABILITIES LEAVE LONGTERM UNEMPLOYMENT Labour and employment MANAGERS MARITAL STATUS MATERNITY LEAVE MATERNITY PAY MENTAL DISORDERS MORTGAGES MOTOR VEHICLES MUSCULOSKELETAL DIS... NATIONAL IDENTITY NATIONAL VOCATIONAL... NATIONALITY NERVOUS SYSTEM DISE... OCCUPATIONAL QUALIF... OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING OCCUPATIONS ORDINARY LEVEL EXAM... ORDINARY NATIONAL C... OVERTIME PART TIME COURSES PART TIME EMPLOYMENT PATERNITY LEAVE PHOBIAS PLACE OF BIRTH PLACE OF RESIDENCE PRIVATE SECTOR PUBLIC SECTOR QUALIFICATIONS RECREATIONAL EDUCATION RECRUITMENT REDUNDANCY REDUNDANCY PAY RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION RENTED ACCOMMODATION RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY RESPIRATORY TRACT D... ROYAL SOCIETY OF AR... SANDWICH COURSES SCOTTISH CERTIFICAT... SCOTTISH VOCATIONAL... SCOTTISH VOCATIONAL... SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT SELF EMPLOYED SHIFT WORK SICK LEAVE SICK PERSONS SICKNESS AND DISABI... SKIN DISEASES SMALL BUSINESSES SOCIAL CLASS SOCIAL HOUSING SOCIAL SECURITY BEN... SOCIAL SECURITY CON... SOCIO ECONOMIC STATUS SPEECH IMPAIRMENTS SPOUSES STATE RETIREMENT PE... STUDENTS SUBSIDIARY EMPLOYMENT SUPERVISORS SUPERVISORY STATUS TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION OF SERVICE TIED HOUSING TRAINING TRAINING CENTRES TRAINING COURSES TRAVELLING TIME UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS UNFURNISHED ACCOMMO... UNWAGED WORKERS VISION IMPAIRMENTS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION VOCATIONAL EDUCATIO... WELSH LANGUAGE WORKING CONDITIONS WORKPLACE

Abstract

This survey was conducted in Indonesia between April 2015 and November 2015, as part of the Enterprise Survey project, an initiative of the World Bank. The objective of the survey is to obtain feedback from enterprises on the state of the private sector as well as to help in building a panel of enterprise data that will make it possible to track changes in the business environment over time, thus allowing, for example, impact assessments of reforms. Through interviews with firms in the manufacturing and services sectors, the survey assesses the constraints to private sector growth and creates statistically significant business environment indicators that are comparable across countries. Only registered businesses are surveyed in the Enterprise Survey.

Data from 1,320 establishments was analyzed. Stratified random sampling was used to select the surveyed businesses. The data was collected using face-to-face interviews.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures. Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country's business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents' opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

The primary sampling unit of the study is the establishment. An establishment is a physical location where business is carried out and where industrial operations take place or services are provided. A firm may be composed of one or more establishments. For example, a brewery may have several bottling plants and several establishments for distribution. For the purposes of this survey an establishment must make its own financial decisions and have its own financial statements separate from those of the firm. An establishment must also have its own management and control over its payroll.

Universe

The whole population, or universe of the study, is the non-agricultural economy. It comprises: all manufacturing sectors according to the group classification of ISIC Revision 3.1: (group D), construction sector (group F), services sector (groups G and H), and transport, storage, and communications sector (group I). Note that this definition excludes the following sectors: financial intermediation (group J), real estate and renting activities (group K, except sub-sector 72, IT, which was added to the population under study), and all public or utilities-sectors.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample was selected using stratified random sampling. Three levels of stratification were used in this country: industry, establishment size, and region.

Industry stratification was designed in the way that follows: the universe was stratified into seven manufacturing industries and two services industries- Food and Beverages (ISIC Rev. 3.1 code 15), Garments (ISIC code 18), Textiles (ISIC code 17), Chemicals (ISIC code 24), Rubber and Plastics (ISIC code 25), Non-metallic mineral products (ISIC code 26), Other Manufacturing (ISIC codes 16, 19-23, 27-37), Retail (ISIC code 52) and Other Services (ISIC codes 45, 50, 51, 55, 60-64, and 72).

Size stratification was defined following the standardized definition for the rollout: small (5 to 19 employees), medium (20 to 99 employees), and large (more than 99 employees). For stratification purposes, the number of employees was defined on the basis of reported permanent full-time workers. This seems to be an appropriate definition of the labor force since seasonal/casual/part-time employment is not common practice, apart from the construction and agriculture sectors which are not included in the survey.

Regional stratification for the Indonesia ES was done across nine regions: Jawa Barat, Jawa Timur, Jawa Tengah, DKI Jakarta, Banten, Sulawesi Selatan, Sumatera Utara, Bali and Lampung.

The sample frame consisted of listings of firms from four sources: First, for panel firms the list of 1,444 firms from the Indonesia 2009 ES was used. Second, for fresh firms (i.e., firms not covered in 2009), economic census data from Statistics Indonesia known in Indonesia as Badan Pusat Statistik, henceforth BPS, was used. 2006 BPS data was used for service firms and small manufacturing firms and 2012 BPS data was used for medium and large manufacturing firms.

Data for service firms were updated by cross-checking with lists from several business associations namely Aprindo 2013 for retail, AKI 2013, AKSINDO 2012 and Gapenri 2014 for construction, PHRI 2012 for hotels and restaurants and ALFI/ILFA 2014 for transportation.

The quality of the frame was enhanced by the verification process conducted by the contractor Kadence International. However, the sample frame was not immune from the typical problems found in establishment surveys: positive rates of non-eligibility, repetition, non-existent units, etc.

Given the impact that non-eligible units included in the sample universe may have on the results, adjustments may be needed when computing the appropriate weights for individual observations. The percentage of confirmed non-eligible units as a proportion of the total number of sampled establishments contacted for the survey was 4.1% (108 out of 2,629 establishments).

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The structure of the data base reflects the fact that 2 different versions of the survey instrument were used for all registered establishments. Questionnaires have common questions (core module) and respectfully additional manufacturing- and services-specific questions. The eligible manufacturing industries have been surveyed using the Manufacturing questionnaire (includes the core module, plus manufacturing specific questions). Retail firms have been interviewed using the Services questionnaire (includes the core module plus retail specific questions) and the residual eligible services have been covered using the Services questionnaire (includes the core module). Each variation of the questionnaire is identified by the index variable, a0.

Cleaning operations

Data entry and quality controls are implemented by the contractor and data is delivered to the World Bank in batches (typically 10%, 50% and 100%). These data deliveries are checked for logical consistency, out of range values, skip patterns, and duplicate entries. Problems are flagged by the World Bank and corrected by the implementing contractor through data checks, callbacks, and revisiting establishments.

Response rate

Survey non-response must be differentiated from item non-response. The former refers to refusals to participate in the survey altogether whereas the latter refers to the refusals to answer some specific questions. Enterprise Surveys suffer from both problems and different strategies were used to address these issues.

Item non-response was addressed by two strategies: a - For sensitive questions that may generate negative reactions from the respondent, such as corruption or tax evasion, enumerators were instructed to collect "Refusal to respond" (-8) as a different option from "Don't know" (-9). b - Establishments with incomplete information were re-contacted in order to complete this information, whenever necessary.

Survey non-response was addressed by maximizing efforts to contact establishments that were initially selected for interview. Attempts were made to contact the establishment for interview at different times/days of the week before a replacement establishment (with similar strata characteristics) was suggested for interview. Survey non-response did occur but substitutions were made in order to potentially achieve strata-specific goals.

The number of interviews per contacted establishments was 0.50. This number is the result of two factors: explicit refusals to participate in the survey, as reflected by the rate of rejection (which includes rejections of the screener and the main survey) and the quality of the sample frame, as represented by the presence of ineligible units. The share of rejections per contact was 0.23.