THE FUTURE OF MARKETING RESEARCH A Study of the Online Access Panel Market in Sweden

Abstract: Online Access Panel (OAP) marketing research is a new method for conducting marketing
research in order to create decision power. For example the decision power can be used in
product development, business development and innovation. There are hardly any common
practices agreed upon concerning OAP marketing research and there have been many
discussions as to whether the method can be seen as representative for the entire population
or not. This master thesis focuses on the evolution of OAP marketing research in Sweden.
The thesis is divided into three main areas, competitors, research methodology and risks.
The theoretical contribution of this master thesis has been to establish a fuller view of the
OAP marketing research industry in Sweden and to position OAP marketing research
relative traditional methods. The practical contribution is to help existing and new entrants
to supply knowledge via OAP:s to their clients in order to develop their businesses. A
comprehensive desk survey has been conducted and additional information has been
collected through a mail survey of the companies on the Swedish market that uses OAP
marketing research. The identified competitors were Bloomerce, CATINÉT A/S, Field Work
Scandinavia, GfK Sverige AB, Hermelin Nordic Research Ipsos Interactive Services,
QuickWise, Temo, TNS-Gallup and Zapera. These companies provide the knowledge needed
to help technology driven industries like ABB, Alfa Laval, Astra Zeneca, IKEA and Sony
Ericsson to gain decision power for making strategic and operative decisions. During the
desk survey it was found that the Swedish telephone operator Telia had set up an OAP of
their own. This was an interesting finding and the future trend in OAP marketing research
could be that clients insource their OAP research.
OAP marketing research is showing rapid growth. The spend on online marketing research
in Sweden has increased by 433% the past four years. This method is most likely to
cannibalize internally on the traditional methods Computer Assisted Telephone Interview
(CATI) and Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI). CATI and CAPI have both been
declining since the introduction of OAP. QuickWise is the market leader on the Swedish
OAP market. Their leading position may have to do with the strategic approach QuickWise
applies as they follow their clients through the entire process of marketing research.
Barriers of entry are to some extent low for conducting marketing research via OAP. This
may trigger new entrepreneurs to enter the market. However the requirements for adequate
maintenance are high and costly if the research is to be representative. In the future product
competitors, implicit competitors, indirect competitors and companies building their own
OAP:s might constitute a threat for Swedish OAP marketing research companies. Therefore
future studies could be focused on comparing and following up these possible threats.