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Studies and Scientific Researches. Economics Edition, No 25, 2017 http://sceco.ub.ro 

105 
 

 

RECENT EVOLUTION OF MARKET RESEARCH AND 

PUBLIC OPINION POLLING BUSINESS IN THE EU 

COUNTRIES 
 

Laura Cătălina Ţimiraş 
 Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacau 

timiras.laura@ub.ro  

 

 
Abstract 
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the evolution of the market research and public opinion 

polling business in the EU countries in recent years (after 2010). Using the Turnover or gross 

premiums written indicator, it was found that the analyzed business experienced an upward trend 

over the period 2010-2015, but not for all EU countries, some of them experiencing decreasing 

of the indicator. At the same time, parallel with the increase of the Turnover or gross premiums 

written at the level of the EU, there was a slight decrease of the number of enterprises and number 

of persons employed in the market research and the public polling activity, a decrease which was 

more pronounced at the level of the old EU Member States. The paper also seeks to highlight the 

link between the macroeconomic outcomes and market size of market research and public 

opinion polling across EU countries, noting the existence of a direct and strong relationship 

between Gross domestic product and Turnover or gross premiums Written both at EU-28 level 

and by categories of old and new member states. The analysis was based on official statistical 

data provided by Eurostat. 

 
Keywords 
market research and public opinion polling; turnover or gross premiums written; number of 

enterprises; gross domestic product; EU member states 

 
JEL Classification 
M31, M39, C10 

 

 

 
The increased need for market research is undoubtedly the result of general economic 

development, increased competition, the dynamism of market phenomena that are often 

difficult or impossible to estimate, the diversification of the needs of increasingly 

demanding and sophisticated consumers etc., context in which organizations are forced 

to support themselves in the decision-making process on this kind of market 

information. 

Worldwide, according to Statista (2017), global revenue of market research business 

was 44.35 billion U.S. Dollars in 2015, rising by over 40% compared to 2010 (31.24 

billion US dollars). In total, Europe has a significant share, so that in 2015 over 37% of 

the global revenue of market research business belonged to it. (Figure 1) 

 



Țimiraș 

106 
 

 
 

Figure 1. Structure of global revenue of market research business per World 

regions in 2015 
Source: own computation after Statista, Inc. (2017) 

 
Also among the top five largest market research companies in the world with 2015 

global research revenue over 1 billion US Dollars, three belong to the EU. (Table 1). 

 
Table 1. The largest operators in global market research activity in 2015 

 
Companies Revenue (billion U.S. dollars) 

Nielsen Holdings N.V., United States 6.17 

Kantar, United Kingdom 3.71 

IMS Health Holdings INC. United States 2.92 

Ipsos SA, France 1.98 

Gfk SE, Germany 1.71 
Source: Statista, Inc. (2017) 

 

Methodological aspects 
The aim of this paper is to highlight the evolution of the market research and public 

opinion polling business in the EU countries after 2010 and also to analyze the link 

between the macroeconomic outcomes and market size of market research and public 

opinion polling across EU countries. The study is based on official statistical data, 

using, for their analysis, indicators for time series and for studying the links between 

variables. 

 

The size and market dynamics of market research and public opinion 

polling business at EU level 
The market size and dynamics of market research and public opinion polling business 

was assessed using the following indicators: Turnover or gross premiums written, as 

well as Number of enterprises, respectively, using the latest available official data 

provided by Eurostat. 

Taking into account the Turnover or gross premiums written indicator, the market 

research and public opinion polling business at EU level reached 18.9 billions in 2015 

(up with 5.1 percent compared to 2011). Almost 90% of the total turnover was made in 

the old EU member states (EU-15), while the new member states (Bulgaria, Czech 

Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, Estonia) achieved 

Europe, 

37.5%

North America,

43.8%
Asia Pacific, 

13.1%

Latin America, 

3.9%

The Middle East 

and Africa, 1.7%



RECENT EVOLUTION OF MARKET RESEARCH AND PUBLIC OPINION POLLING BUSINESS IN THE EU 
COUNTRIES 

107 
 

just over 10% of this sum. Referring to the number of enterprises in the field of market 

research and public opinion polling business, in 2014 there were about 36.6 thousand 

businesses operating in the EU (down with 3.6% compared to 2011), out of which about 

74 % belonged to the old EU states, and the number of persons employed in the field 

amounted to over 189 thousand persons in 2015 (with 1.1% less than in 2011). 

Increasing Turnover or gross premiums written on the background of falling number of 

persons employed shows an increase in the efficiency of work in this field. In fact, this 

increase in efficiency was reflected only in the old EU member states (where number 

of people employed declined by 2.4%), the indicator in the new EU member states 

rising. (Table 2 and Figure 2) 

 
Table 2. The evolution of the market research and public opinion polling 

business at the EU level, respectively in the old and new member states, in terms 

of Turnover or gross premiums written, Number of enterprises and Number of 

persons employed 

 

Country 

groups 

Turnover or gross 

premiums written 

(millions of €.) 

Number of enterprises 

(enterprises) 

Number of persons 

employed 

(persons) 

2011 2015 

(+
/-

 i
n
 %

 i
n
 2

0
1
5
 

c
o
m

p
a
re

d
 t

o
 2

0
1
1

 

2011 2014 

(+
/-

 i
n
 %

 i
n
 2

0
1
4
 

c
o
m

p
a
re

d
 t

o
 2

0
1
1

 

2011 2015 

(+
/-

 i
n
 %

 i
n
 2

0
1
5
 

c
o
m

p
a
re

d
 t

o
 2

0
1
1

 

The EU – 

15 
16028.7 16883.0 5.3 28303 26934 -4.8 160211 156427 -2.4 

The new 

member 

states of the 

EU 

1996.7 2063.6 3.4 9620 9641 0.2 31089 32709 5.2 

European 

Union (28 

countries) 

18025.4 18946.6 5.1 37923 36575 -3.6 191300 189136 -1.1 

Source: own computation Eurostat (2017) 

 
The results obtained from market research and public opinion polling business 

(Turnover or gross premiums written) and allocated resources (Number of persons 

employed) are not evenly distributed among the old and new EU members. Thus, 

according to figure no. 2 in 2015, the old EU member states had 82.7% of total 

employees and 89.1% of total Turnover or gross premiums written, while at EU-15 

level 17.3% of employees were employed and the share of total turnover was only 

10.9%. 

 



Țimiraș 

108 
 

 
 

Figure 2. Structure of Turnover or gross premiums written, Number of 

enterprises and Number of persons employed in market research and public 

opinion polling business at old and new UE states level (%) 
Source: own computation from Eurostat (2017) 

 
By EU countries, the largest market for research (market research and public opinion 

polling) in terms of Turnover or gross premiums written, belongs to the United 

Kingdom with a value of nearly EUR 5.5 billion, followed by other old Member States, 

such as: Germany, France, Netherlands, Italy, Spain (but with values below 50% of the 

level registered in the United Kingdom). At the level of the new EU member states, the 

size of the market is much lower, the largest market - the 8th in the EU-28 ranking, 

being owned by Poland (almost 0.6 billion Euros). (Figure 3) 

 

 
 

Figure 3. Turnover or gross premiums written made in market research and 

public opinion polling business by UE countries in 2015 (millions of €.) 
Source: Eurostat (2017) 

*2014 data 

 
Over time, the evolution of the markets in the different EU countries was not the same. 

Thus, between 2010 and 2015, changes in the Turnover or gross premiums written 

indicator ranged very broad from increases of over 100% (in Ireland, where we are 

considering the 2010-2014 period), to decreases by more than 60% (for Malta). (Figure 

4) 

89.1
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82.7

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Turnover or gross

premiums written in 2015

Number of enterprises in

2014

Number of persons

employed in 2015

The EU – 15 The new member states of the UE

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RECENT EVOLUTION OF MARKET RESEARCH AND PUBLIC OPINION POLLING BUSINESS IN THE EU 
COUNTRIES 

109 
 

 

 
 

Figure 4. Percentage change in Turnover or gross premiums written in market 

research and polling business in EU-28 countries in 2015 compared to 2010 (+/- 

in % as compared to 2010) 
Source: own computing from Eurostat (2017) 

* 2014 compared to 2010 

** 2015 compared to 2011 

 
From the perspective of Number of enterprises in market research and public opinion 

polling business, the EU countries with the largest number of operators in 2014 are: 

Netherlands (with more than 6 thousand organizations), followed by: France, Italy, 

Spain, United Kingdom. (Figure 5) 

 

 
Figure 5. Number of enterprises in market research and public opinion polling 

business from EU-28 countries in 2014 
Source: Eurostat (2017) 

Note: no data for Malta 

 
Like the Turnover or gross premiums written indicator, in the case of Number of 

enterprises in market research and public opinion polling business there have been 

different evolutions by country. A spectacular increase from this point of view was 

registered in Lithuania (more than 6 times in 2010-2014), with the rest of the countries 

registering increases ranging from 1.7% to 65.1%. Still, in most EU countries there 

have been recorded decreases in the number of operators. (Figure 6) 

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Țimiraș 

110 
 

 

 
 

Figure 6. Percentage change in Number of enterprises in market research and 

polling business in EU-28 countries in 2014 compared to 2010 (%) 
 Source: own computation from Eurostat (2017) 

Note: no data for Malta 

 

The link between the macroeconomic outcomes and market size of market 

research and public opinion polling business across EU countries in 2015 
Studying the link between the Gross domestic product and the Turnover or gross 

premiums written in the market research and public opinion survey business in the 28 

EU states, there is a strong link between the level of macroeconomic outcomes and the 

size of the analyzed market. Thus, according to figure no. 7 and table no. 3 it is observed 

that the bond is direct and strong, the correlation coefficient r being of 0.871. 

Using the Fisher test to verify the significance of the determined link, it is found that 

this is significant for a significance level α of 0.001. (Table 3) 

 

 
Figure 7. Link between Gross domestic product and Turnover or gross premium 

writing in Market Research and Public Polling business in EU-28 Countries in 

2015 
Source: own computation from Eurostat (2017) 

Notă: for Ireland,it was used Turnover or gross premiums written for 2014. 

 
Similarly, for the new EU members the evaluation of the link between Gross domestic 

product and the Turnover or gross premiums written in the activity of market research 

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R² = 0.7591

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

0 1000000 2000000 3000000 4000000

T
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(M
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GDP (Millions of Euros)



RECENT EVOLUTION OF MARKET RESEARCH AND PUBLIC OPINION POLLING BUSINESS IN THE EU 
COUNTRIES 

111 
 

and public opinion polling, it was found that the direct nature of the relationship 

between the two variables is also verified, the intensity of the relationship being 

stronger for the new member states (the correlation coefficient r calculated for the new 

EU member states has a value of 0.962, while for the EU-15 it was 0.841). (Figure 8 

and Table 3) 

In this case, the determined relationships are significant for a significance level α of 

0.001, as evidenced by the Fisher test. (Table 3) 

 

EU – 15 
 

New EU Member States 

 
Figure 8. Relationship between Gross domestic product and Turnover or gross 

premiums written in Market Research and Public Polling Activity by Categories 

of Countries - Old and New EU Member States in 2015 
Source: own computation from Eurostat (2017) 

Notă: for Ireland, it was used Turnover or gross premiums written for 2014. 

 
Table 3. Relationship between Gross domestic product and Turnover or gross 

Premiums Written in Market Research and Public Opinion Polling Business in 

EU Countries in 2015 

 

Countries 

Regressi

on 

equation 

Variation (sum of the 

squares) 

C
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c
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(r
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T
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-

V
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European 

Union 

(EU – 28) 

Y = 

0.0013x 

+ 19.064 

Total 37534591.4 

75.9 0.871 81.9 0.001 13,74 Factorial 28493243.8 

Residual 9041347.6 

EU - 15 

Y = 

0.0013x 

- 21.124 

Total 30733769.4 

70.7 0.841 31.4 0.001 17,81 Factorial 21736283.0 

Residual 8997486.5 

New EU 

member 

states 

Y = 

0.0013x 

+ 39.843 

Total 291088.2 

92.5 0.962 135.5 0.001 19,69 Factorial 269233.2 

Residual 21855.1 
Source: own computation from Eurostat (2017) 

Notă: for Ireland, it was used Turnover or gross premiums written for 2014. 

 
It is noted from the above table that the value of the regression coefficient has the same 

value at the level of the 3 equations determined (0.0013), which shows that both at the 

Y = 0.0013x - 21.124

R2 = 0.7072

0

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GDP (Millions of Euros)

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R2 = 0.9249
0

100

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Țimiraș 

112 
 

EU-28 and at the EU-15 levels, respectively the new members, on average, there is an 

increase of 1 billion Euro in Gross domestic product, related to an increase of 1.3 

million Euro in the Turnover or gross premiums written in market research and public 

opinion polling business. 

 

Conclusions 
This paper highlights how the market for market research and public opinion polling 

across EU countries has evolved over the last years (2010-2015), as well as the link 

between the macroeconomic outcomes and the size of this market at the level of the 

analyzed countries. 

For the market assessment, the indicators used were: Turnover or gross premiums 

written, Number of enterprises and Number of persons employed. The analysis was 

based on the latest available official data provided by Eurostat. 

The market of organizations in market research activity and public opinion polling at 

the level of the EU registered an increase in the period 2010-2015 from the perspective 

of the Turnover or gross premiums written indicator, the upward trend reaching in 2015 

almost 19 billion Euros; the old EU members hold over 89% of the total market. In the 

background of the increase in the Turnover or gross premiums written, the Number of 

enterprises and Number of persons employed registered a slight involution, which 

shows an increase in efficiency in this field. 

Market size of market research and public polling organizations business at the level of 

the analyzed countries is closely related to the macroeconomic results recorded, with a 

direct and strong link between Gross domestic product and Turnover or gross premiums 

written both at EU-28 level, as well as by categories of old and new member states. The 

determined link shows that, on average, at the level of EU countries, an increase of 1 

billion Euros of Gross Domestic Product generates an increase of 1.3 million Euros of 

the market research and public opinion polling activity. 

 

 

References  
Boier, R, Ţimiraş, L.C. (2006), Cercetarea de marketing, Iaşi, Editura Performantica; 

Harja E., Ţimiraş L.C. (2009), Metode statistice utilizate în cercetarea de marketing, 

Bacau, Editura Alma Mater 

Sincich, T. (1989), Business Statistics by Example. Third Edition, Dellen Publishing 

Company 

Ţimiraş, L. (2013), The Evolution of the Marketing Research Market on the Level of 

The European Union Countries, after 2000, Studies and Scientific Researches - 

Economic Edition, No. 18, pp. 362-366, available at http://sceco.ub.ro/ 

Eurostat (2017), http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. 

Statista Inc. (2017), https://www.statista.com 

 

 

http://ideas.repec.org/s/bac/fsecub.html
http://ideas.repec.org/s/bac/fsecub.html
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/
https://www.statista.com/