Research Guides: Strategic Research: Research a Company

Research Guides

Strategic Corporate Research
This excellent website is by Tom Juravich, UMass Amherst, who has been teaching Internet skills for strategic corporate research for years. The site is more than pointers to websites, It introduces "a framework and a visual representation of the 24 areas where you should direct your research". There are sections for U.S. and Canadian publicly-traded, privately-held, non-profit and public sector company research.
CorpWatch Reports
CorpWatch: Non-profit investigative research and journalism to advocate for multinational corporate accountability and transparency.
How To Do Corporate Research Online (Corporate Research Project)
Research Guide for researchers and activists by Phil Mattera. Covers publicly held and private U.S. companies.
Company Research (RUL LibGuide)
This excellent guide by Rutgers business librarians Ka-Neng Au and Roberta Tipton offers links to many web sites, including state corporate databases. Some of the resources are for Rutgers affiliates only, but a surprising number are free or only require registration.

Researching Corporations - Snapshots

Google Finance
Yahoo! Finance
Corporate profiles are excellent starting points. (Use search box, search by company name or ticker symbol.)
Hoovers Online
Basic company and industry profiles are available for free. Be wary of advertisements for their fee-based products.

Company Research on the Free Web

Company research resources freely available over the Web... perfect for those without university affiliation.

JobStar
Assembled and maintained by librarians, JobStar focuses on information for job seekers, but HR practitioners will find much to use as well. Resources include sample resumes, career guides, salary surveys, and more.

Researching Nonprofits

Nonprofits are required to make their IRS Form 990 public. Below is a detailed video tutorial presented by Foundation Group for viewing and understanding IRS Form 990s.

Company Research Databases

Check these databases for company financials, executives, annual reports, histories, and more.

Hoover's Company Records (Westlaw)
Available through the News section of the Westlaw database, Hoover Company Records provide basic company facts, names of executives and directors, and a Company Overview. It includes publicly traded companies, subsidiaries, nonprofits, and some large private companies. Rutgers Restricted Access
IBISWorld
IbisWorld provides reports for the 723 industries in the U.S. Research reports contain trends, statistics and analysis on market size, emerging industry trends, recent production performance and 5 year forecasts The Rutgers subscription does not include global industry reports but does include reports on more than 8,000 public companies from around the world. Rutgers Restricted Access
MarketLine (formerly Datamonitor 360)
Start with MarketLine for company profiles, SWOT analyses, financial deals, and market share. Rutgers Restricted Access
Mergent Horizon
Find information on a company's competitors, suppliers, partners, and corporate customers, using a detailed hierarchical classification system for actual products and services. Rutgers Restricted Access
Mergent Online
Mergent Online is a database of corporate information covering over 22,000 US and foreign public companies. Information available for each company includes corporate history, lists of subsidiaries, SEC filings, etc. Rutgers Restricted Access

Corporate Accountability

There are a growing number of nonprofit organizations engaged in “corporate accountability” activities, including research, community organizing, and activist campaigns. These organizations can be good sources for research and news reports on corporate labor and environmental issues. If the organizations listed below are not what you are looking for, try the Yahoo Directory listing.

Green America
From Coop America, a social justice organization engaged in "research on companies that are subjects of consumer and shareholder action campaigns, and that have significant influence on their industry."
Good Electronics
Good Electronics is an "international network on human rights and sustainability in electronics". The web site offers news and publications on labor and the environment involving corporations such as Microsoft, LG, Sony etc.
Corporate Ethics International
"The Business Ethics Network is intended to build the capacity of corporate campaign organizations by providing constant education, networking and collaborative opportunities, assistance with staff training and development, and fund raising."
Dirt Diggers Digest
a blog by by Philip Mattera, director of the Corporate Research Project
Corporate Accountability International
"Corporate Accountability International has been waging winning campaigns to challenge corporate abuse for more than 30 years. We were there at the beginning of this movement to demand direct corporate accountability to public interests and have been at its forefront ever since."
Corporate Accountability
Corporate Accountability is a German-based NGO. "It contains information about ongoing civil society campaigns on corporate accountability and about NGOs and trade unions who are active in this field. It provides comprehensive material on codes of conduct, multi-stakeholder initiatives and intergovernmental processes. Finally, this site makes available documents and publications on corporate accountability and links to relevant research institutes and databases."
CorpWatch
CorpWatch is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization that investigates and exposes corporate violations of human rights, environmental crimes, fraud and corruption around the world.
Sethi International Center for Corporate Accountability
"Based at the Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College of The City University of New York, SICCA engages in public policy research and assists multinational corporations and other organizations to enhance voluntary conduct, accountability and transparency in all areas of their operations."
CSRwire
CSRwire is a source of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability news.