1. Concept and Results of a Test Survey on Enterprise Delineation
17th International Roundtable on Business Survey Frames
October 2003
Peter Schmidt
Statistisches Bundesamt

2. Theoretical Basis
Theoretical basis for the test is a methodological concept for the enterprise term leading to two main criteria:
ownership or control relations between legal units
economic integration: ancillary activities or provision of factors of production for main units

3. Main Aims of the Test
1. Empirical results about the relevance of the concept
frequency of ancillary and factor units
impact on the economic structure by combining legal units
2. First experiences about possibilities for the introduction of the concept
how to get information about the two criteria?
Bottom-up approach at the level of legal units (identification of ancillary and / or factor units as well as of related main units)
Top-down approach at the level of enterprise groups (understanding the structure of groups and profiling groups)
what is the best way in terms of practicability, chance for success and efforts?

4. Test Design Test survey for the bottom-up approach
Identification of ancillary / factor units by questionnaire
Voluntary survey for 10,000 legal units at most
Aimed at legal units probably being ancillary / factor units
No information about ownership and control
Sample of the BR using NACE-Code, legal form, additionally part of a group of VAT units (Organschaft)

5. Structure of the Sample
Sample drawn from the Business register
4 Subgroups:
parts of „Organschaften“: 1,000 legal units
Real estate (NACE 70.2): 1,000 legal units
wholesale and retail trade (only corporations, not closed companies): 2,000 legal units
selected NACE classes for which ancillary activities could be expected with some probability: 6,000 legal units (mainly services)
Projection for the whole economy is planned
under the assumption that the probability for ancillary / factor units outside the 4 subgroups is very small

6. Questions
general questions: legal form, foundation, turnover, employees?
part of a group?
size of the group?
tax group (Organschaft)?
kind of activities?
customers: only units inside the group?
if so, how many?: exactly one, up to 3, many?
if only a few customers inside the group: activity of them?
especially for trade units: providers of products only inside the group?
plans to offer services to legal units outside the group in the future?

7. Results

10. Possible changes in the relations between main industry groups
Manufacturing
Trade
Real estate, renting
and business activities