2020 Outsell Consumption Study

2020 Information Seeking and Consumption Study

The velocity of content sharing is accelerating.

From research and industry news to workforce trends and legislative reform, organizations rely on the reuse of published content to support collaboration and drive innovation.

So not surprisingly, the rate of work-related content sharing has tripled since 2016. Yet, 47% of professionals recently surveyed are either unaware of their organization’s copyright policy or unsure of its details.

In partnership with Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), analyst firm Outsell, Inc., the voice of the data and information industry, completed the 2020 Information Seeking and Consumption Study to provide cumulative insights about how copyrighted content is reused and shared in the workplace.

Here’s what we learned:

How much employees share information, how it is sourced, and what it means for your organization

16.5

instances of content sharing per week vs. 5.5 in 2016

9

minimum number of people with whom content is shared

49%

of content shared is externally sourced vs. 36% in 2016

69

potential copyright violations per employee per week vs. 18 in 2016

The impact of remote working on content sharing

64%

of respondents reported working from home during the pandemic

34%

of respondents working remotely reported an increase in the frequency of sharing content during the pandemic

Executives share more content than other employees

24.6

instances of content sharing per week vs. middle management (15.8) and individual contributors (10.5)

12

minimum number of people with whom content is shared vs. middle management (9) and individual contributors (6)

144

potential copyright violations per employee per week vs. middle management (74) and individual contributors (30)

63%

of executives report sharing more often during the pandemic, compared to middle managers (27%) and individual contributors (22%)

Ways employees share information at work are shifting

48%

use an email attachment most often vs. 44% in 2016

20%

use a link in an email most often vs. 18% in 2016

16%

use collaboration tools most often vs. 6% in 2016

By taking steps to balance employee reuse of published content with a strong compliance and licensing program, your company can leverage today's rise in content sharing to help support collaboration and drive innovation.

Learn more about CCC's compliance and content workflow solutions

About Copyright Clearance Center

About Outsell, Inc.