A study of the European information services markets

Based on the methodological approach developed by a team of the DGD (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Dokumentation, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) in 1994, a study of the supply and markets of electronic information services (EISs) was conducted in 1995/96 in the seventeen countries of the European Economic Area (Member States of the European Union, plus Norway and Iceland). The surveys in the seventeen countries were conducted by national institutes, using the common ‘DGD methodology’ and coordinated by a team of the DGD and the PSI (Policy Studies Institute) in London. Two different approaches are followed in this Member States Study (MSSTUDY):(1) a ‘market approach’ (measuring the expenditures for EISs for professional purposes in the seventeen countries);(2) a ‘supplier approach’ (measuring the worldwide revenues of suppliers of EISs) for professional purposes from the seventeen countries).This paper presents some main results of the MSSTUDY, taking into consideration the methodological problems in gathering t...