Criteria for the Sector Selection of 2003/04

In 2003/04, e-Business W@tch studies focused on 10 sectors. The selection was primarily guided by the aim of covering a broad segment of the economy, while also including those industries which are important for e-business provision and adoption in Europe, such as ICT services ("primary selection criteria").

Primary selection criteria

The selection of sectors to be analysed 2003/04 was primarily based on the economic importance of the various sectors for the European economy and the relative importance of electronic business within the sector, as far as information about the importance was already available.

• The economic importance of the sectors for the EU economy: For the representation of e-business impacts in the economy as a whole, "large" sectors play a major role, since changes in their production models, their purchasing and marketing behaviour as well as their productivity and dynamics of growth have a very major effect on the performance of the entire economy. The assessment of the economic importance is mainly based on two standard economic indicators: the sector's share of employment and the amount of value-added by the sector.
• The relative importance of electronic business within the sector: As e-Business W@tchhas demonstrated in the first phase (2002/03), the intensity and nature of ICT and e-business usage differs considerably between sectors. Some sectors, although still small in absolute terms, are growing rapidly and/or illustrate the role which ICT and electronic business may play in other sectors in the future. This distinction overlaps to a certain extent with what is commonly identified as the "old" and the "new" economy. For example, ICT services companies are typical representatives of the "new economy" with a comparatively small share of the overall economy, but in many respects representing the absolute e-business leader. The statistical proxy for the relative importance of e-business in a sector is the Pilot Index which was computed for 15 sectors (cf. European E-Business Report 2003), based on the eEurope 2005 E-Business Index.