Global Sources' latest study exposes China electronics engineering Decision-makers' reliance on media

HONG KONG, November 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Sources' (NASDAQ: GSOL) joint venture subsidiary, eMedia Asia Limited, released in a study today that 85 percent of China's electronics engineering Decision-makers are pre-informed with specific company and product information prior to conducting a web search. China Decision-makers' number one media source for gathering information is from third-party industry electronics engineering websites.

Global Sources Ltd. Logo. (PRNewsFoto/GLOBAL SOURCES)

The research shows that depending on the task at hand, Decision-makers rely on various forms of media to gather information. Decisions-makers' top three media sources for each of the following tasks are listed below:

• Hear about new technology: Electronics Engineering Websites (71 percent), Industry Tradeshows (55 percent), and Electronics Engineering Magazines (46 percent).
• Gain deeper technical analysis: Electronics Engineering Websites (59 percent), Datasheet Websites (45 percent), and Vendor Websites (42 percent).
• Find solutions to design problems: Electronics Engineering Websites (62 percent), Electronics Engineering Magazines (47 percent), and Vendor Websites (42 percent).
• Get industry news/rumor: Electronics Engineering Websites (72 percent), Industry Tradeshows (54 percent), and Electronics Engineering Magazines (50 percent).

The study of 3,468 China electronics engineers, which included 1,201 China Decision-makers, discovered that 63 percent of Decision-makers hold the title of manager or executive. Fifty-five percent of Decision-makers work in the regions of Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai or Jiangsu. The top three industries they work in are consumer electronics, communications, and industrial controls/security devices.

Furthermore, in the 52-page report, 86 percent of China electronics engineering Decision-makers indicated product quality and performance to be the number one factor in choosing products, followed by the availability of technical support (60 percent) and competitive pricing (53 percent). Moreover, when searching for technology from vendors, 48 percent indicated they look for vendors that they recognize, while placing an equal weight (28 percent) on sourcing from both American and Chinese companies.

What about the Non-Decision Makers?

Download a copy of the report (http://www.eetasia.com/emag) to further discover how this group of Decision-makers compares against two other groups of lesser decision-making power -- the Influencers group and the No Influence group. Some of the observations are summarized below:

• Decision-makers tend to be more mature, with 47 percent over the age of 36, as compared with 30 percent of Influencers and 25 percent of the No Influence group.
• 60 percent of Influencers hold Design Engineering positions, and 61 percent of the No Influence group hold Design Engineering positions.
• The No Influence group hears about new technology on Forums/Blogs, 75 percent more than Decision Makers and 30 percent more than Influencers.
• The No Influence group is two to three times more likely than the other groups to rely on Weibo (microblogging) and social networking sites to learn about industry news and rumor.

What role does age play in media reliance?

Also included in the report is a section dedicated to how media is consumed differently according to the respondents' ages. The respondents are classified according to Baby Boomer (Boomer), Generation X (Gen-X), and Generation Y (Gen-Y). Here are a few of the observations:

• 74 percent of Baby Boomers hold management/executive positions, with 53 percent being a Decision-maker.
• 52 percent of Gen-X hold management/executives positions, with 36 percent being a Decision-maker.
• 13 percent of Gen-Y hold management/executive positions, with 15 percent being a Decision-maker.
• Regardless of age, the number one media source for gathering information is from third-party industry electronics engineering websites.
• Boomers and Gen-X rely upon electronics engineering websites, industry tradeshows, and electronics engineering magazines to find out about new technology.
• Gen-X and Gen-Y both rely more on forums and blogs than Boomers to hear about new technology.

The complete study is available for free download at http://www.eetasia.com/emag.

Survey methodology

eMedia Asia Limited conducted the research by sending a Chinese online survey to 80,000 China electronics engineers between September 12 and 28, 2012. It received 3,468 usable responses. The results are 99 percent statistically accurate, with a margin of error plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

Global Sources

Global Sources is a leading business-to-business media company and a primary facilitator of trade with Greater China.

The core business facilitates trade between Asia and the world using English-language media such as online marketplaces (http://www.globalsources.com), print and digital magazines, sourcing research reports, private sourcing events, trade shows, and online sourcing fairs.

Over 1.18 million international buyers, including 90 of the world's top 100 retailers, use these services to obtain product and company information to help them source more profitably from overseas supply markets. These services also provide suppliers with integrated marketing solutions to build corporate image, generate sales leads and win orders from buyers in more than 240 countries and territories.

Global Sources' other businesses provides Chinese-language media to companies selling to and within Greater China. These services include online web sites, print and digital magazines, seminars and trade shows. In mainland China, Global Sources has a network of more than 30 office locations and a community of over 4 million registered online users and magazine readers of its Chinese-language media.

Now in its fifth decade, Global Sources has been publicly listed on the NASDAQ since 2000.

About eMedia Asia Limited

eMedia Asia Limited is a joint venture between Global Sources (60.1%) and United Business Media's EETimes Group (39.9%).

eMedia Asia provides 500,000-plus technology decision-makers throughout Asia and China with access to a multichannel media network. Through its technical events, publications and online network, eMedia Asia leads in providing the region's electronics community with the business and technical information they need to remain competitive.