The survey focused on Knowledge Management (KM) practices of the 50 biggest companies in Finland. It was part of the research programme REBUS at Finnish Metals and Engineering Competence Cluster, FIMECC. Main themes included the practices, organisation, effectiveness, challenges and development needs of knowledge management. Most questions were in the form of statements relating to how certain issues were handled in the organisation, with the respondents being asked to state to what extent they agreed or disagreed.

Organisational and strategic capability of the company were charted with statements relating to decision-making, feed-back, communication and cooperation practices, work climate, trust between management and employees, strategy development and implementation, organisational structure, information and communication technology in use, and knowledge systems and services (e.g. Intranet, learning resources, mentoring) provided by the company.

One theme pertained to how the company captured knowledge and know-how and disseminated them within the organisation, and what approaches were in use to improve employee know-how and skills. The survey also investigated data protection and knowledge protection measures. Innovativeness, ability to adapt to changes in business environment and to streamline the organisation were charted. One set of statements explored the challenges and development needs of knowledge management.

Background variables included the industry sector and turnover of the company, and the respondent's job field and occupational status.