Branch and Directorate
The Communications and Marketing Branch's (CMB) Research and Advertising team coordinates all public opinion research (POR) conducted by Industry Canada and is also responsible for the following:
- conducting proprietary research in core areas of interest;
- providing advice on and/or managing POR for other areas of the department; and
- ensuring that all POR research conducted at Industry Canada meets or exceeds industry standards and is conducted in accordance with applicable Government of Canada policies.
Background and Rationale
Ongoing research for and evaluation of programs and services is a requirement of the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada.
On behalf of Industry Canada, the Communications and Marketing Branch subscribes to Corporate Connection, a syndicated survey, undertaken twice yearly among CEOs and senior executives of small, medium and large Canadian firms.
This business survey is of special interest to Industry Canada as it encompasses businesses of all sizes and thus represents the entire business community, one of our key stakeholder groups.
The focus of the study is on topical, broad-based corporate issues, including policy and economic matters, with emphasis on business interaction with government.
Industry Canada's annual subscription agreement entitles the Department to proprietary questions in each wave of the survey.
In the fall of 2006, Industry Canada's proprietary questions focused on:
- investment in Science and Technology and its relation to economic growth
- sustainable development
Corporate Connection is a syndicated study that is proprietary to the research firm. With the exception of Industry Canada's own proprietary questions and findings, the Department cannot publicly share the overall report without the express consent of the firm.
Anticipated Outcomes/Benefits
The research findings will help Industry Canada better understand and track the views and preferences of the business community in Canada. The findings will feed into departmental briefings, communications plans and environmental analyses used in the development and tracking of departmental policies and programs relevant to business audiences.
The results will also help the Department to better address business information needs and will help us determine their preferred communications channels for providing relevant information on Government of Canada programs and services that are aimed at business audiences.
Research Information
The survey consists of 30-minute telephone interviews, conducted twice a year, in the spring and in the fall.
In total, 400 interviews are conducted with a mix of small, medium and large firms. The sample is proportionate to the distribution of the business population in Canada by sector and region, as reflected in Statistics Canada's Business Register. A sample of this size is accurate to within +/- 5 percent, 19 times out of 20.
Respondents are Canadian CEOs, presidents, vice-presidents, business owners and other senior decision makers.
Research Firm: Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc.
Contract Number: U1400-071624
Contract issued by: PWGSC under the standing offer for quantitative research
Contract value: $26 500.
Corporate Connection — Industry Canada Proprietary Questions — Fall 2006 Report
Corporate Connection
Industry Canada Proprietary Questions
Fall 2006 Report
Aussi disponible en français
POR Registration #: 185-06
Contract #: U1400-071624
Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc.
1678 Bank Street, Suite 2, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 7Y6
Tel: 613-260-1700
Fax: 613-260-1300
Email: info@phoenixspi.ca
www.phoenixspi.ca
Table of Contents
Introduction
This report presents the results for questions asked on behalf of Industry Canada that were included in the fall 2006 wave of Corporate Connection. Corporate Connection is a twice-yearly survey of CEOs and senior executives that focuses on current corporate and public affairs issues. For this wave of the study, 400 interviews were completed between October 16 and November 15, 2006. Well over half of the sample (60%) consisted of CEOs, presidents and business owners. The results were weighted by size, sector and region to reflect the actual distribution of firms across Canada (according to Statistics Canada data). Based on a sample of this size, the findings can be considered to be accurate to within +/- 5%, 19 times out of 20.
This study was conducted by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc., a public opinion research firm that specializes in public affairs and special audience research, in particular business audiences. Following the substantive questions reported on in this summary report is a set of graphs that present the characteristics of survey participants and their businesses. Where the analysis focuses on the size of business, surveyed companies have been grouped into the following categories: small (less than 50 employees), medium-sized (50-99), and large (100 employees and more, with more than two-thirds of the large firms having 200 or more employees). The set of questions addressed in this report is appended.
Findings
Over Two-Thirds See Link Between S&T Investment and Economic Growth
Fully 69% of senior executives see a link between government investment in science and technology and economic growth (scores of 5-7 on 7-point scale; 7 = very strong link, 1 = no link at all). This includes one-third (34%) who see a strong link (scores of 6-7). Dissenting executives were more likely to hold a neutral rather than negative view (19% vs. 11%).
The larger the firm, the more likely executives were to perceive a strong link between investment in science and technology and economic growth, from 31% in small firms to 39% in medium, and 56% in large firms.
| Small | Medium | Large | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/7, Strong link | 31% | 39% | 56% |
| 5 | 38% | 21% | 22% |
| 4 | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| 3 | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| 1-2, No link | 5% | 17% | 2% |
Business leaders in the Atlantic region and Ontario were considerably more likely than others to perceive a strong link between economic growth and investment in S&T (52% in Atlantic Canada and 42% in Ontario vs. 24-30% elsewhere). Executives in the West were the most likely to perceive no link (12% vs. 3% or less).
| Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | West | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/7, Strong link | 52% | 30% | 42% | 24% |
| 5 | 21% | 50% | 38% | 26% |
| 4 | 16% | 15% | 9% | 33% |
| 3 | 4% | 3% | 6% | 5% |
| 1-2, No link | - | 1% | 3% | 12% |
Participants were read the following definition of sustainable development to inform their responses to subsequent questions:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Over Half Understand Implications of Sustainable Development for their Business
Over half (55%) of corporate executives claim to have at least a moderately clear understanding of ‘sustainable development' in terms of its meaning and implications for their business (positive scores on 7-point scale; 7 = completely clear, 1 = not clear at all). Of these, more than one-quarter (28%) would characterize their understanding as very clear (scores of 6-7). Less than one-quarter (21%) felt that their understanding of what sustainable development means for their business is unclear (i.e. scores of 1-3).
Executives in larger firms were more likely to have a very clear understanding of what sustainable development means for their business (32-39% vs. 25% in small firms). However, offsetting this, moving from small to large firms, they were less likely to have a moderately clear understanding (from 28% in small, to 25% in medium and 21% in large firms).
| Small | Medium | Large | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/7, Very clear | 25% | 39% | 32% |
| 5 | 28% | 25% | 21% |
| 4 | 26% | 13% | 21% |
| 3 | 8% | 3% | 12% |
| 1-2, Not clear | 12% | 20% | 4% |
Executives of Quebec firms were the least likely to have a very clear understanding of what sustainable development means for their business (19% vs. 25-36% elsewhere). However, they were also the least likely to be unclear about this (13% vs. 21-24% elsewhere).
| Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | West | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/7, Very clear | 36% | 19% | 25% | 31% |
| 5 | 31% | 35% | 31% | 17% |
| 4 | 10% | 33% | 21% | 27% |
| 3 | 3% | 6% | 8% | 10% |
| 1-2, Not clear | 21% | 7% | 13% | 12% |
Sustainable Development Thinking Influences Business Planning
Sustainable development (SD) thinking affects the business planning and day-today operations of a majority of surveyed firms (58%), at least to a moderate degree. Conversely, one-third (34%) feel that SD thinking has little impact on this, while 8% claim it has no impact at all.
Executives of medium-sized firms were the most likely to employ sustainable development thinking in their business planning and operations (63% vs. 54-58% of others).
| Small | Medium | Large | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great deal | 18% | 20% | 21% |
| Moderate | 40% | 43% | 33% |
| Little | 36% | 27% | 27% |
| Not at all | 7% | 10% | 18% |
Across the country, sustainable development thinking was similarly likely to affect a great deal of firms' business planning/operations (15-19%). However, executives in the West (50%) were the most likely to acknowledge a moderate impact on such decisions, followed by those in Quebec (42%) and the other regions (28-31%). Moving east to west, business leaders were much less likely to claim that SD thinking had no impact on their decisions (from 20% in Atlantic Canada, to 10% in Quebec, 8% in Ontario, and 5% in the West).
| Atlantic | Quebec | Ontario | West | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great deal | 15% | 18% | 17% | 19% |
| Moderate | 28% | 42% | 31% | 50% |
| Little | 36% | 30% | 44% | 26% |
| None at all | 20% | 10% | 8% | 5% |
Characteristics of Survey Participants
The following graphs present the characteristics of survey participants by position of respondent, business size, region, and sector. Note that unweighted data is used to present the characteristics of survey participants.
Appendix
Questions
- How strong a link do you see between government investment in science and technology and economic development and growth? Please use a 7-point scale, where 1 means no link at all and 7 means a very strong link.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. - How would you rate your level of understanding of sustainable development in terms of its meaning and implications for your business? Please use a 7-point scale, where 1 means this is not clear to you at all, and 7 means completely clear.
- To what extent does sustainable development thinking affect your business planning and day-to-day operations? Would you say a great deal, a moderate amount, only a little or not at all?