Content last reviewed:
Finding a MNC
- Fortune Magazine Top Global 500 companies
- World's Largest Public Companies - Forbes Magazine
Get a Company's 10k or Annual Report
Google the name of the company and investor relations to get the companies annual report from thier website. These documents will outline the company's business position, strategy and financials.
Tips for Company Information:
Look for a SWOT analysis:
- Go to Business Source Complete and search for your company name. Scroll down and limit by Company Report and SWOT Analysis.
- Go to Passport. Select Companies from the top tab and key in your company name. Select relevant segment and open the profile. Look in the table of contents for a SWOT analysis.
Databases
- Mergent Online Financial data for U.S. and selected global companies.
- Factiva - Mouse over Companies/Markets from menu bar at top of page. Scroll down to find business and geographic segments. Explore the table on contents on the left hand side.
Rankings
- JUST Capital - provides information and rankings on how large corporations perform on issues that matter most to the public.
- Forbes - The Companies With The Best CSR Reputations In The World
- Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World index
Industry Information
Search NAICS 2017 to get the NAICS code for an industry
- Begin with Business Source Complete.
- Select Industry Profiles from menu on right hand side. Browse alphabetically to search by industry.
- Mergent Online
- Select the Report Search tab from the menu. Select industry of interest and then geographical region.
- Search by NAICS code
- Passport
- Go to Industries at the top of the page, select the relevant industry or industries and narrow by country. Tip - choose the industry plus specific parts of industry as there is often more than one industry profile.
- Factiva
- Mouse over Companies/Markets from menu bar at top of page, select Industry. Select industry from the list provided.
- Conference Board of Canada e-Library
- Browse by topic -> Industry Sector Economics for industry profiles or enter industry name in the search box.
Tip:
Look for valuable information and data from trade associations
Google the industry + country or region + association
Research Starting Points
- Passport - Get country reports for Industries, Economy, Business Conditions, Environment, Consumer Behavior and Demographics. Get company and market information.
- Business Source Complete - Get country reports, industry reports and trade journal articles.
- Nexis Uni - Get country, industry and company reports.
- Doing Business from the World Bank
- Data from international organizations (OECD iLibrary/ World Bank World Development Indicators/ UNdata)
Social Environment
Population Statistics
In Passport search by country
From the top tool bar select
>consumers
>population
>country reports
The Related Statistics provides census data. Select time series, by year - choose relevant years and click on Apply.
- World Bank Search by Country
- World Bank Data - World Development Indicators
Education Statistics
- Education Statistics (EdStats) from the World Bank
Cultural Environment
- In Passport, select Consumers and explore under headings Households and Lifestyles.
- globalEdge, select country to see languages, ethnic groups, religions as well as links to other sources.
- Hofstede Centre - provides country-based cultural analysis, comparisons and scores.
Economic/Financial Environment
- EIU.com - provides economic and financial data
- World Economic Forum The Global Competitiveness Report
- globalEdge - select country, economy
Political Environment
- EIU.com provides political structure (look under Summary)
- globalEdge includes political structure, international relations and international organization participation in the Government section.
Legal Environment
- World Fact Book by the CIA includes information on country legal systems.
- globalEdge - Look for the Country Commercial Report.
Technological Environment
Look for data and information that will help you examine and analyze one of two variables:
- Technologies USED by the industry you are analyzing e.g. fracking by oil and gas
- Technologies that are essentially substitutes for the products provided by the industry being analyzed e.g. online advertising with Google and Facebook displacing print advertising at Postmedia
- Passport - ranks countries by technology - go to Consumers, Digital Consumer
- search relevant keywords in the search box for trends and new products. - Gartner - Information Technology related information. Generally not country-specific.
-
Global Information Technology Report (World Economic Forum)
Geographic/Natural/Ecological Environment
- EIU.com - search Natural Resources in the search box and select country on left.
- World Resource Institute
- Environmental Performance Index
Global country ranking on environmental performance from Yale University. Click on a country for details.
Search for News, Magazines and Trade Journal Articles
- Factiva excellent source for international business news
- Business Source Complete
- Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database
- Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO)
- PressReader pdfs for more than 2300 newspapers from 97 countries in over 55 languages
- PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service)
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Specific Publications
- Bloomberg News
- Forbes
- Fortune
- The Economist
- Wall Street Journal
- The Globe and Mail
- National Post Online (Includes the Financial Post)
Writing use the excellent resource OWL - Purdue University's Online Writing Lab.
- Expand General Writing to explore:
- Writing Tutorial Service (WTS)
Citing your sources
It is essential to understand how and when to use citations in your essays and projects to ensure the Academic Integrity of your work. Good help is available! Use the style the professor says to use - it may be different for different classes.
- Research and Citation - Guides to citation styles from OWL.
- Citing Your Sources - Carleton's general guide to resources on all the main styles including video links.
- APA Citation for Business Resources - York University
- Citation Guide - prepared by the Harvard Business School
- The Chicago Manual of Style Online
- Citing Data & Statistics
Citation Management
- Citation Management Tools
- Zotero Guide - Ryerson
- Zotero Guide - U of T
