Reports the results of a questionnaire study to compare the methods of access to industrial information, by companies in Saudi Arabia, with similar information access in the UK. The objectives of the study were: to determine what major information sources are available to Saudi Arabian and UK industrial concerns, to examine the level of service and relevance of the information provided, to investigate how aware industries are of information sources and to what extent they use them; and to look for differences in the use of information as a function of the type of company concerned. The survey examined the size of firms, Saudi and UK government information sources, Saudi and UK non-government information sources, numbers of different information sources used by firms, the industrial sector use of information and the types of business information sources. Respondents were asked how useful they found the information that they obtained and whether they experienced any problems in acquiring it. The survey was supplemented by interviews with key information providers and users. Results suggest that current information provision in Saudi Arabia may be sufficient in terms of number and range of providers for the existing demands of industry. However, UK experience suggests that this provision will need to evolve as industrial activity develops.
