Country Profiles
- MarketLine - The Country Profile Series describes the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and enviornmental (PESTLE) landscape. Former location of Datamonitor reports.
- Global Market Information Database
Search for "Business Dynamics" + the name of your country to find reports for your selected country. - World Factbook - go-to resource for basic country information
- Country Fact Sheets - focus on US relations with each country
- UHY Doing Business Guides - guides created by a network of consulting agencies that detail the business environment of a given country
Cultures & Customs
- Culturgrams in print at Ref. GT 150 .C852 2009, 2nd Floor Kresge Library
- Understanding Global Cultures (also in print on reserve at GN 345.7 .G36 2013)
Business Etiquette
- Ettiquette Reports from Commisceo Global - Online
- Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands - Ref. HF 5389 .M67 2006 - On Reserve
- International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior - HD 58.7 .A33 2008 - On Reserve
- Passport to Success: The essential guide to business culture and customs in America's largest trading partners - (also in print at Ref. HF 5389 .M3753 2009)
International Statistics
- UN Data - a portal to country data. Maintained by the United Nations.
- Global Market Information Database
International socioconomic data, including industry statistics and country information.
Reports & SWOT Analyses
Company reports usually contain a business description, a history of the companies, as well as some discussion of company financials. Our key databases for company reports are:
- MarketLine - company and industry reports, market research information...
- Mergent Online - company reports with a wealth of information such as financials, histories, competitor lists, etc.
- Factiva - use the business search to find company reports
Financials & Stocks
- Mergent Online - in depth financials including statements and ratios
- Yahoo Finance - company search takes you to current and historical stock prices.
Latest Developments
You can learn a lot about a company by reading current newspaper and business articles about it. For instance, you can search the databases below using a company and a country to find out what the company is doing in a specific foreign market.
The following resources contain industry reports.
IBISWorld - You can find Industry reports for all the NAICS based industries here as well as many custom reports for niche or emerging industries. Use this for: Industry Reports, Porter's Five Forces Analysis. To help you find the sections of an IBISWorld report that deal with Porter's Five Forces, follow this guide.
MarketLine - Marketline is global in scope. It does not use NAICS or SIC codes. Instead it has its own system for industry reports. All of the reports are organized by country. Try doing a keyword search and filtering the results with the option on the left of the results screen. Use this for: Industry Reports, Porter's Five Forces Analysis
ProQuest One Business - Finding industry reports in this resource can be daunting. They are published by First Research.
IBISWorld - You can find Industry reports for all the NAICS based industries here as well as many custom reports for niche or emerging industries. Use this for: Industry Reports, Porter's Five Forces Analysis. To help you find the sections of an IBISWorld report that deal with Porter's Five Forces, follow this guide. MarketLine - Marketline is global in scope. It does not use NAICS or SIC codes. Instead it has its own system for industry reports. All of the reports are organized by country. Try doing a keyword search and filtering the results with the option on the left of the results screen. Use this for: Industry Reports, Porter's Five Forces Analysis ProQuest One Business - Finding industry reports in this resource can be daunting. They are published by First Research.
Try your research skills about by answering the questions in our Library Search Activity.
Shawn McCann
Assistant Professor
mccann@oakland.edu
248.370.2456
Available: Virtually by Appointment
Book appointment
The library has many ebooks available that support the writing of business plans. One example is "Winning Business Plans" which gives tips on all the stages of planning a business.
To find more ebooks like this, try using:
Business Collection eBooks
Collection of eBooks on business, entrepreneurship, and other related topics. Thanks to MeL.
Another great source of inspiration is to look at example business plans. I would recommend the following for sample business plans:
Small Business Association
BPlans
To find more ebooks like this, try using:
Business Collection eBooks Collection of eBooks on business, entrepreneurship, and other related topics. Thanks to MeL.
Another great source of inspiration is to look at example business plans. I would recommend the following for sample business plans:
Small Business Association
BPlans
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