Document Center

BA 364 International Business Research

In this Guide:

Company Research
Industry Research
International Market Research
Country Guides
Finding Articles
Selected Business Terms

Company Research

COMPANY DIRECTORIES

Directory of Corporate Affiliations
The Directory of Corporate Affiliations covers U.S. and non-U.S. public and private companies, their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries and divisions. Data includes leadership, financial and ownership information for each company.
ReferenceUSA
ReferenceUSA lists 14 million U.S. businesses. Information includes: business name, executive title, business type, sales volume, employee size, year established and more.

COMPANY PROFILES

The following databases or web resources include information on: parent companies & subsidiaries; company fact, descriptions & history, company financials (annual sales, quarterly financial statement); company stock symbol, and prices; company competitors; list of top officers; primary SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code, or NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System)code, and more.

IBISworld
IBISWorld covers thousands of industries in the United States economy at the 5-digit NAICS code level. Reports include market characteristics, segmentation, industry conditions, industry performance, key competitors, key success factors, and outlook. IBISWorld also has extensive coverage of industries in the Asia/Pacific region with reports covering China, Australia and Indonesia.
Encyclopedia of Company Histories at Answers.com
Information on the development of top companies from around the world including timelines, lists of principal subsidiaries and competitors, and bibliographies for further reading.
International Directory of Company Histories
DOCS REF HD2721 .I63
Provides a valuable reference source on international big business. Each entry provides basic factual information on the history of the company and a survey of its recent performance and activities.
Lexis-Nexis Academic
Provides comprehensive coverage of current news, business and company information, government and legal information, and more.
Mint Global
Mint Global from Bureau van Dijk contains information on over 35 million public and private companies and financial institutions from the U.S., Europe, Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. It provides descriptive information, company financials, news, market research, ratings and country reports, scanned reports, ownership and M&A data.
ORBIS
ORBIS from Bureau van Dijk is another interface for Mint Global. Coverage of database is the same as Mint Global.
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage brings together a dozen financial and investment publications that provide information for corporate research and for industry, competitive, and investment analysis. Among the publications included are such familiar titles as S&P's Corporation Records, Industry Surveys, Stock Reports, Stock Guide, Bond Guide, Dividend Record, Earnings Guide, Mutual Fund Reports, and the Outlook. Also included are S&P's Register of Corporations, Directors, and Executives and the Security Dealers Directory.

SEC FILINGS

Databases listed in Company Profiles have information on company financials or links to company filings. In addition, the following web sites provide data on company SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filings.

EDGAR
Provides company and filing: 10-K, 20-F, proxy statements, some annual reports, and other financial statements of public companies filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
FreeEDGR
Offers users easy, basic access to SEC EDGAR filings.

COMPANY RANKINGS

Business Rankings Annual
DOCS REF HG 4050 .B88 [On Business Index Table]
D&B Business Rankings
DOCS REF HG 4057 .A237 [On Business Index Table]
Financial Times 500
Includes Global 500, US 500, Europe 500, UK 500, and Japan 500.
Forbes America's 200 Best Small Companies
Annual list highlighting the hottest growth prospects in American business.
Forbes America's Largest Private Companies
List of the top private companies in the US, based on revenues.
Forbes Lists
Lists of top companies, education, places, and people and more.
Fortune Global 500
Fortune magazine's annual list of the top 500 global companies, ranked by revenues.
Fortune 500
Fortune magazine's annual list of the top 500 U.S. companies, ranked by revenues
Fortune 500 1995-2006
A database of every year of FORTUNE's list of America's largest corporations.
Inc. 5000
List of fast growing private companies in America.
IndustryWeek 1000
Reports on 1000 largest publicly held manufacturing companies based on revenue in the United States.

STOCK PRICES

Is the company you are researching a publicly held (traded on a stock exchange), privately owned, or subsidiary of a publicly held organization? A key factor is that public companies must report certain financial information to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and their shareholders. To identify the stock exchange ticker symbol for a public company, search the following sites:

For Stock exchange, and analysis search:

COMPANY MISSION STATEMENTS

Mission Statement Book
DOCS REF HD 30.285 .A27
Contains 301 corporate mission statements from America's top companies.
Missionstatements.com
Largest collection of mission statements from companies (Fortune 500, Inc. 500, Manufacturing, Marketing/Public Relations...), non-profit organizations and more.

Company mission statement, philosophy and objectives for the forthcoming years are often stated in the corporate annual report. If the mission statement is not a section of an annual report, check the section of Corporate Statement or Chairman's Statement. Look for words such as "our vision", "looking forward", "our objective" etc.

Also look at the sections such as "responsibility", "social responsibility", "our commitment", etc.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION FOR TOP OFFICERS

Biographies Plus Illustrated
Contains more than 46,000 biographies and obituaries. Searchable by name, profession, title, place of origin, gender, race/ethnicity, titles of works, date of birth, date of death, and keyword.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
A comprehensive index to nearly 12 million biographical sketches in more than 2700 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world.
Biography.com
Includes thousands of short biographies of over 25,000 famous people, past and present.
D&B Reference Book of Corporate Managements
DOCS REF HD 2745.D85 [On Business Index Table]
Encyclopedia Britannica.com
A search and directory service that combines selected websites and magazines and book citations with the complete, updated Encyclopedia Britannica.
Who's Who in America
REF KNIGHT E663.W56

SELECTED WEB SITES

Business Wire
Provides access to company profiles, annual reports, and company news.
Hoover's
Access to the profile database for free (some) information on companies, industries and executives. Hoover's Company Records can be accessed via Lexis-Nexis Academic
InsiderInfo Business
Information on Real Estate, Employment, Financing, Accounting, Business Lawyer, and thousands of other business related products and service.
Researching Companies Online
A business research tutorial that provides step-by-step instruction for finding company and industry information on the Web.
ThomasNet (formerly Thomas Register)
ThomasNet is a directory containing over 72,000 product headings and 170,000 U.S. and Canadian manufacturers. It allows you to search by product, company or brand name. Provides you with basic contact information as well as links to websites and e-catalogs. Free registration required for some features.
Websters Online
A business directory/search engine. Provides company profiles and contact information. SIC/NAICS Codes and product information can also be found.

Industry Research

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATIONS

North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
NAICS is a 6-digit code developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, but used internationally. Use the Keyword or Code search to look up codes and get descriptions. NAICS is also available via NAICS Association
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
SIC is a system of 4-digit codes that attempts to classify all business establishments by the types of products or services. Even though NAICS officially replaced the SIC system in 1997, SIC codes still are used in some resources. Use the keyword or code search.

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW, SURVEYS, ANALYSIS

Encyclopedia of American Industries
DOCS REF HC102 .E53 2008 [On Business Index Table]
Brief (1-10 pages) descriptions on a wide variety of industries. Includes information on an industry's background and development, and descriptions of industry leaders.
Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries
DOCS REF HD2324 .E528 [On Business Index Table]
Details the inception, emergence, and current status of 108 newly flourishing U.S. industries and industry segments.
Market Share Reporter
DOCS REF HF 5415.2 .M37 [On Business Index Table]
Covers both international and U.S. market shares with over 3,600 entries, each with a descriptive title, data and market description, list of producers/products with their market share, numerous graphics, and more.
IBISworld
IBISWorld covers thousands of industries in the United States economy at the 5-digit NAICS code level. Reports include market characteristics, segmentation, industry conditions, industry performance, key competitors, key success factors, and outlook. IBISWorld also has extensive coverage of industries in the Asia/Pacific region with reports covering China, Australia and Indonesia.
Mintel Reports
Provides research reports on European,UK, and US consumer markets. The reports analyze market drivers, sizes and trends, market segmentation, along with consumer attitudes and purchasing habits. Covers food, beverage, apparel, beauty and personal, retail, travel and more. Users will need to create a profile with their uoregon.edu email address to use the database.
Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage
Provides detailed descriptions of companies, industries, and mutual funds. Company information includes a description of the company, stocks & bond issues, earnings estimates, dividend and split history and more. The Industry Surveys cover broad views of industries in the U.S. and international regions, including their trends, forecasts, major players and market share data, key ratios, statistics, and internal and external issues affecting the industries.
TableBase
Provides statistics related to market size and share, budget/expenditures, company and brand rankings, and more.

INDUSTRY NORMS & RATIOS

Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios
DOCS REF HF5681.R25 T68 2001 [On Business Index Table]
Financial Studies of the Small Business
DOCS REF HD 2346 .U5 F55
Arranged by asset size and establishment type; financial and operating ratios are provided for about 50 lines of small business and manufacturing
Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios
DOCS REF HF 5681 .R25 I53 [On Business Index Table]
RMA Annual Statement Studies
DOCS REF HF 5681 .B2 R6 [On Business Index Table]

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

ASAE Gateway to Association Directory
Provided by the American Society of Association Executives. Search associations currently operating on the World Wide Web by keywords or location.
IPL Associations on the Net (AON)
Collection of a wide variety of professional and trade associations, cultural and art organizations, political parties and advocacy groups, labor unions, academic societies, and research institutions.

Return to top

International Market Research

COUNTRY INFORMATION

GlobalEDGE: Country Insight
Historical, economic, and political conditions, statistical data, and more for 199 countries.
Global Insight: Country Intelligence
Country Intelligence provides information on 203 countries worldwide with analysis of breaking events and trends. Country Reports present detailed analysis and commentary on each country's business environment with focus on six key areas: political, economic, legal, tax, operational, and security. Special Reports provide deeper analysis of trends on country, regional or global basis.
IBISworld
Mintel Reports
World News Connection
Regional and country information via the US government.

Also search the following web sites:

Background Notes
In-depth surveys of various countries from the U.S. Department of State.
CIA World Factbook
Country profiles: introduction, geography, people, government, economy, communication, transportation, military and transnational issues.
Document Center has the hard copy: DOCS REF PrEx 3.15:
General reference also has a copy: KNIGHT REF G122 .U56a
Country Studies
Covers 101 countries and regions throughout the world. Presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of these countries.
The library has a print collection of country studies located in the reference area of Document Center. Materials are shelved alphabetically by country names.

CULTURES INFORMATION

To look for information on cultures, the following reference book is a good starting point:

Culture-Grams
DOCS REF GT 150 .C85
Includes information on background, people, lifestyle, and society of 175 different countries. Provides a picture of a nation's cultural life, habits, and attitudes.

Another helpful strategy when researching a culture is to search the Knight Library by typing in the key words:

Doing business with (add the name of the country)
Doing business in (add the name of the country).

You can also visit the library's Reserve Book Collection and look at the books on reserve for BA 361 Cross-Cultural Business Communication.
Click here to see the entire list:

Here is a sample of the references that are on reserve:

Cultures and organizations: software of the mind
Doing business in Asia: the complete guide
Doing business internationally: the guide to cross-cultural success
International management: cross-cultural dimensions
Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries
When cultures collide: leading across cultures: a major new edition of the global guide
Riding the Waves of Culture
Women in management worldwide: facts, figures, and analysis

To look for information on cultures, you can also search for articles in journals and magazines by using the databases listed in the section of FINDING JOURNAL / MAGAZINE ARTICLES.

STATISTICS AND MARKETING DATA

The Trade Information Center -- Links to country and regional market information.
Direction of Trade Statistics Yearbook
DOCS REF HF 1016 .D542 [On Statistics Table]
Seven years of country-specific export and import data in US dollars. Find out who exports and imports from whom.
International Financial Statistics
DOCS REF HG 3881 .I6263 [On Statistics Table]
Financial information on almost all IMF member countries, including exchange rates, money and banking accounts, interest rates, production prices, and national accounts. The monthly edition contains 8 years of data, with the most recent 4 years broken into both annual and quarterly data.
International Trade Statistics Yearbook
DOCS REF HF91 .U473 [On Statistics Table]
Country-specific and regional export and import data. For each country there is historical data, imports and exports listed by trading partner, and exports / imports by commodity and industrial area.
Market Share Reporter
DOCS REF HD 2757.15 .W67 [On Business Index Table]
A collection of market share data drawn from business publications/reports and arranged by SIC (ISIC equivalents are provides.) The data is indexed by company, geographic location, brands, SIC, and ISIC.

CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHICS

Demographics & Consumer Behavior
World Consumer Spending 2006/2007
DOCS REF HC79.C6 W67 2006 [On Business Index Table]

FINDING ARTICLES

To find journal, or magazine, or newspaper articles, search the following databases:

Academic Search Premier
Offers indexing and abstracts for over 2,880 journals covering areas in social sciences, humanities, general science, and education. Provides full text for nearly 1,380 journals.
Business Source Premier
Full text from nearly 930 journals covering business, management, economics, banking, finance, accounting and much more. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for nearly 1,570 journals.
JSTOR: Electronic Journal Archive
A fully searchable electronic database that contains the scanned images of over 100 major research journals in a variety of academic disciplines including business and economics, some of which began publication as early as the 1870s.
Lexis-Nexis Academic
Comprehensive coverage of current news, business and company information, government and legal information.
Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition)
The Wall Street Journal, the financial newspaper of record, is an indispensable source for business professionals, providing business and financial news coverage, personal and company profiles, feature reporting, special reports, and regular columns. The database provides the full-text articles from the Wall Street Journal going back to at least 1986, with some material from earlier years. It includes the entire text of written articles, but no graphs or data, such as stock prices.

See the following Web pages for information on:

To learn how to cite sources in your research papers, please consult the following website:

Citing Sources in Research Papers