個案資料

Company and Industry Research: Strategies and Resources is a five-chapter book published by Business Expert Press in 2016 and written by Hiromi Kubo, business and economics librarian at California State University, and Thomas J. Ottaviano, business and economics librarian at Cornell University's Mann Library. The focus of the book is to provide practical guidance for conducting effective business research. The authors describe important characteristics of research and emphasize the need for evaluating information gathered. They review several sources of business, industry, and general research. They also offer practical insight into the elements of a business plan. In Chapter 3, Industry Research (28 pages), the authors review resources about business industries, news and trends, data and analysis, and trade. The authors emphasize the importance of understanding the industry in which a business operates and describe how Porter's Five Forces provides a universal structure for industry analysis. They suggest that the most important step for the researcher is to define the industry suited to his or her company and review standardized industry classification system codes, North American Industry Clas¬sification System (NAICS). They also offer practical tips on conducting industry research and review the sources listed at the beginning of the chapter, including Business Insights: Essentials, IBISWorld, Mintel, Factiva, Bloomberg, U.S. Bureau of the Census, and ABI/INFORM Complete.

• Market analysis
• Business plans