Abstract:

The topic of my paper, PC-based research in years to come, invites dreaming: talking about research based on the Personal Computer makes it easy to enter the no man's land between dream and reality, that land where cost per interview declines with the speed of a falling star and where a kiss on the computer earns you the optimal solutions. I will try not to do so. Instead, I will first highlight some actual differences between Europe and the USA. Next, I want to discuss the production process of market research and the product range that market researchers (within organisations or as research institutes) are offering. The production process / product range matrix (PP/PM matrix) offers a good base to explain the function and the opportunities of the computer and especially the PC in market research. The PP/PM matrix also offers a good base to show the main developments, threats and opportunities in the market research industry. Finally, I will combine the various developments and will try to draw a picture of PC-based research in the United States of Europe after 1992.