Business Operations Survey

The Business Operations Survey is used to collect performance measures from New Zealand businesses to better understand the practices and behaviours they undertake which may have an impact on their performance. These statistics feed into policy and micro data research that helps identify the current situation of the New Zealand business environment, as well as potential areas of improvement. The survey covers all businesses in New Zealand that have 6 or more employees, and have been active for one year or more.

The main objective of the survey is to collect information on the operations of New Zealand businesses in order to quantify business behaviour, capacity, and performance. In addition, each module in the survey has its own specific objectives. The modules included in the Business Operations Survey and their objectives are listed below.

Module A: Business Operations

This module aims to provide a longitudinal series of information relating to business performance. This will assist in the development of models aimed at investigating causal relationships. As well as traditional measures of performance such as turnover and profitability, there is also a need to collect information on such areas as export intensity. The purpose of collecting business environmental information is to analyse any relationships between the environment in which a business operates and the results it achieves.

Module B: Innovation or Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

The content of module B alternates between Innovation (odd years) and ICT (even years). The objectives of each module are as follows:

ICT: This module aims to provide a core set of comprehensive, official statistics on businesses use of:

• computers, ICT services, and security
• Impact of ICT
• Internet use and connection
• purchases and sales of goods or services via the internet
• web presence
• computer networks
• cellphones.

Innovation: The objective of the innovation module is to provide information on the characteristics of innovation in New Zealand's private-sector businesses. This information will enable the development of policy that will facilitate innovation, and understand the dynamics of innovative businesses. The innovation module runs every two years, and replaced Statistics NZ's former Innovation Survey, last run in 2003. The module was designed in accordance with OECD guidelines to develop an understanding of the contribution of all aspects of innovation to the New Zealand economy by measuring:

• levels of firm innovation
• how and why firms collaborate with other firms and institutions in order to innovate
• factors affecting the ability of firms to innovate
• outcomes of innovation for firms, including its effect on exports.

Module C and D: Contestable module

The contestable module content changes year on year. Modules that have been run in the past are:

2005: Business practices

2006: Employment practices

2007: International engagement

2008: Business strategy and skills

2009: Business practices

2010: Price and wage setting; Financing

2011: International engagement

2012: Regulation

2013: Business practices; Skill needs and recruitment

2014: Skills acquisition; Business finance

2015: International engagement

2016: Regulation; Skill acquisition

2017: Business Practices; Health and Safety

2018: Changing nature of work; Business finance

2019: International engagement

2020: COVID-19

The specific objectives can be found in the study of each year.

The target population for the Business Operations Survey was live enterprise units on Statistics NZ’s Business Frame that at the population selection date:

• were economically significant enterprises (those that have an annual GST turnover figure of greater than $30,000)

• had six or more employees

• had been operating for one year or more

• were classified to ANZSIC06 codes as ‘in scope’ in list 1 below

• were private enterprises as defined by New Zealand Institutional Sector 1996 Classification (NZISC96) as in list 2 below.

Reference period

The survey was posted out in August and collected information for the last financial year for which the business had data available at that point.

The target population for the Business Operations Survey was live enterprise units on Statistics NZ’s Business Frame that at the population selection date:

• were economically significant enterprises (those that have an annual GST turnover figure of greater than $30,000)

• had six or more employees

• had been operating for one year or more

• were classified to ANZSIC06 codes as ‘in scope’ in list 1 below

• were private enterprises as defined by New Zealand Institutional Sector 1996 Classification (NZISC96) as in list 2 below.

An enterprise is defined as a business or service entity operating in New Zealand, such as a company, partnership, trust, government department or agency, state-owned enterprise, university, or self-employed individual.

List 1 – ANZSIC 06 codes

ANZSIC06 code – description

A – Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

B – Mining C – Manufacturing

D – Electricity, gas, water, and waste services

E – Construction

F – Wholesale trade

G – Retail trade

H – Accommodation and food services

I – Transport, postal ,and warehousing

J – Information media and telecommunications

K – Financial and insurance services

L – Rental, hiring, and real estate services

M – Professional, scientific, and technical services

N – Administrative and support services

P – Education and training

Q – Health care and social assistance

R91 – Sport and recreation activities

R92 – Gambling activities

S94 – Repair and maintenance.

Out of scope

O – Public administration and safety

R89 – Heritage activities

R90 – Creative and performing arts activities

S95 – Personal and other services

S96 – Private household employing staff and undifferentiated goods and service producing activities of households for own use

List 2 – NZISC96 codes

NZISC96 code – description

1111 – Private corporate producer enterprises

1121 – Private non-corporate producer enterprises

1211 – Producer boards

1311 – Central government enterprises

2211 – Private registered banks

2221 – Private other broad money (M3) depository organisations

2291 – Private other depository organisations nec

2311 – Private other financial organisations excluding insurance and pension funds

2411 – Private insurance and pension funds.

Out of scope

3 – General government

4 – Private non-profit organisations serving households

5 – Households

6 – Rest of world

21 – Central bank

1321 – Local government enterprises

2212, 2213, 2222, 2223, 2292, 2293, 2312, 2313, 2412, 2413 – Central and local government financial intermediaries

Sample design

The sample design was a two-level stratification according to ANZSIC industry and employment size groups. This information was obtained using enterprise ANZSIC industry and employment information from Statistics NZ's Business Frame or/and Business Register.

The first level of stratification was 36 ANZSIC groupings. Within each of the ANZSIC groups there is a further stratification by employment size group. The four employment size groups used in the sample design are:

• 6–19 employees (small)

• 20–29 employees (medium 1)

• 30–49 employees (medium 2)

• 50 or more employees (large).

The two medium groups have been amalgamated, and the large size group further broken down for this publication, as these businesses were of particular interest for some of the results.

The survey has been designed to produce aggregate statistics at a national level. This design does not facilitate statistics to be produced at a regional level.

New Zealand