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MBA535 Applied Business Research Project | Course Guide: Web Resources

Library materials and useful resources for students at MBA 535 Applied Business Research Project compiled by Alfaisal University librarians

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Company and Industry Data

Top multinational companies worldwide: top 100, top 50 from developing nations, and top 25 from transition economies (on the basis of sales, assets; referred to as Transnational Companies; World Investment Report Series; (1991-current annual) UNCTAD; United Nations).

Annual reports and other firm-specific information:

Canadian firms {select "Canadian Company Capabilities", then "Browse". See also business information by sector or industrial category which includes information on manufactured goods, service, resource industries, as well as technology; Industry Canada}.

European firms:

Euro Pages Directory {Business Directory - search by name, keyword, or browse by industry: agriculture, energy, food, metallurgy, paper, printing, rubber, telecommunications, textiles, wood, vehicles... Addresses, contact information, web sites, etc.}.

Latin America {selected countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru. Company information including contact information, web sites, products manufactured, product catalogs, trade, etc. Some with annual reports; Mercantil.com}.

United Kingdom firms {Most material other than annual reports and "company fundamentals" requires registration. A fee is charged for the in-depth company information; HemScott}.

U.S. firms:

Benchmark {by structure - corporations, limited liability corporations (LLC), sole proprietorship; also general U.S. national business statistics, some will require NAICS code information, profitability, etc.; BizStats}.

Industry outlook {may require SIC or NAICS code information; Bureau of Labor Statistics}. See also Business & Industry data; national industry (summary) data by NAICS {U.S. Bureau of Census}.

PRARS {Search alphabetically, by Industry, or by state; Public Register's Annual Report Service (PRARS)}.

Report Gallery {annual reports, stock exchange reports, and Zacks™ research reports of larger U.S. firms. Annual Reports.com, IR Solutions}.

Corporate Information:

Business.com {basic profile and financials, including Internet address where available of major companies. Search by company or industry; Business.com}.

Kompass {Free "Public Access" service (no registration required) provides general contact information for companies by industry for: Agriculture (food and beverages), building and civil engineering, business services (consulting), ceramics, chemicals, education and training, electricity (electronics and nuclear), finance and insurance, handling (distribution, warehousing and packaging), hotels and restaurants, gifts, glass, heating (ventilation and air conditioning, and refrigeration), information technology, jewelry (precious stones and diamonds), mining and quarrying, machinery, measuring and testing equipment, metallurgy (metalworking and metal products), mineral products, office machinery and equipment, oil and gas, optical equipment, paper and cardboard, pharmaceuticals, printing and publishing, precision equipment, rubber and plastics, telecommunications, textiles (apparel/clothing, leather, footwear), travel goods, water and sewage (environmental services), wood (furniture and wooden products) Additional information is available through registration, or you can subscribe for full access to all information on over 2 million companies and 70 countries in the database; Kompass.com}.

Corporate Information {Registration required for trial subscription. Fee for regular services. Company and industry information by country, in-depth company reports for both privately held and publicly traded firms, and list/information of world's largest companies in terms of market capitalization; CorporateInformation} and descriptions of corporate forms {for example - Inc., SA, GmbH, AG, and NV; NO FEE for access}.

 

Forbes Global 2000 {general statistics - see also the Forbes 'Lists' page for other 'best,' biggest..}.

 

Inc. 5.000 {Annual List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies; Inc.com}.

PR Newswire {company news; technology, etc. PR Newswire}.

SEC (U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission), Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR -- "Who Where") {US public corporate information, financial profile, SEC filings (8K, 10K, 10Q, 11K, etc.}.

INDUSTRY (see also the Associations page; product standards and certification, as well as ISO requirements):

General Industry Reports:

Trade.gov {Aerospace, automotive, chemicals consumer goods, computers, energy, environmental technologies, forest products, instrumentation, machinery, metals, microelectronics, medical equipment, services and finance, and telecommunications, and textiles and apparel, and tourism. See also data on services (output, trade and sales, as well as links to other sites that collect services data; USDOC, ITA}.

Agriculture

Commodity Prices {monthly summary; World Bank "Pink Sheet." Note: previously available historical prices -- five+ year data -- has been removed by the resource provider, World Bank

Energy industry {worldwide energy statistics. See also [Energy] Country Analysis Briefs; US Department of Energy (USDOE), Energy Information Administration}.

Fish and fish products:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service {NOAA; USDOC}.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

Employment Outlook {USDOC}.

Industry experts/specialists:

Export.gov {Trade Development (TD) specialists by SIC, or alphabetical by industry. The site is a little difficult at times and may require that you press 'refresh' or F5; USDOC, ITA}.

Industry reports:

Trade Information Database}.

Trade.Gov {aerospace, automotive, basic industries, chemicals, consumer goods, computers, energy, environmental technologies, forest products, infrastructure, instrumentation, machinery, metals, microelectronics, medical equipment, services and finance, technology and aerospace, telecommunications, textiles and apparel, and tourism; USDOC, ITA}.

Information Technology; telecommunications and related industries: See E-commerce and High Technology-Focused News and Internet Statistics.

Transportation: Bureau of Transportation Statistics {view (html or PDF), or download (MS Excel or csv) monthly economic data on indicators related to transportation, for example, air travel price index, domestic airline jet fuel; air carrier on-time performance; motor fuel prices; highway vehicle miles traveled; rail freight: revenue ton-miles; use of passenger rail: revenue passenger miles; US Department of Transportation}.

Textiles and Apparel {USDOC, ITA}.

Mega Sites

Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA) {resources on a broad array of international trade issues, most information is free, but FITA also provides special services to members}.

Global Edge (Michigan State University)

Global Trade Net (import and export trade resources arranged by country, industries, or topic)

International Affairs Resources {see in particular "Organizations," "Regions and Countries," and "Topics" sections; WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources; Dr. Wayne Selcher, Elizabethtown College}.

Understanding the World Today {See especially the data page; Dr. Gene Shackman}.

WolframAlpha {Collection and analysis of data from a wide variety of sources. See especially Places & Geography; and Socio-economic Data; and Examples for a list of topics}.

 

General Data

The United States Census Bureau {broad range of US statistics and foreign data. See Subjects A-Z, then "International." See, in particular, Foreign Trade, international data base, and statistics}

The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration {country, industry, and trade statistics, as well as general ITA information}.

See U.S. Data & Analysis and Trade Stats Express {USDOC, ITA}.

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