1. Understanding the Business Environment
Library Session
Understanding the Business Environment
Yanli Li
Business and Economics Librarian
September 25th, 2016

2. Agenda for Today The library website and starting points for research
Finding industry information
Competitive environment analysis
Finding company information
Finding market information
Finding customer information
Financial analysis – estimating sales and costs
Finding business articles
Citation
Reference help

3. The Library Website
The Library website is the gateway to many resources, including:
Books, articles, journals
Databases
Subject & course guides 

4. Off-campus Authentication
You perform your research first. If you want to access e-resources off-campus and are prompted for authentication, enter your Network Login username and password.

5. Library Electronic Resources vs. Google Searching
Electronic books, journals & magazines, articles
Databases
Company
Industry
Market research
Financial data
Statistics
And much more ….

6. Library Electronic Resources vs. Google Searching
Library resources are:
selected for quality and relevance to teaching and research
Generally not available on the Internet
Much quicker and comprehensive in most cases
Very reliable as most information is written by the industry experts or collected by people in the industry

7. Your First Stop for Research
BU 111 Course Guides:
Business Subject Guide:
Business databases:
advanced
Tutorials – Finding Business Information:

8. Your First Stop for Research
Search for books, articles, and working papers in PRIMO
Good for general research on large industries and companies:
e.g. retail*, Blackberry
Try search terms:
online communication, wechat, chatbot, mobile instant messaging, IM app, messaging app, mobile payment, etc.

9. Hands on Practice Exercise 1 – Primo search
Find articles regarding the application of chatbots
Can you find this article?
Doland, Angela. How Crayola Used Wechat and Alibaba to Grow Sales in China? Advertising Age, May 30, 2016, Vol.87(11), p.0027

10. Finding Industry Information
Industry Classification Codes
Most databases allow you to search information on an industry using NAICS codes or SIC Codes.
NAICS 2012 Canada  
NAICS - U.S. Census Bureau  
SIC Codes
SIC Codes - Canada  
SIC - U.S. Department of Labor  

11. Finding Industry Information
Key industry databases:
providing industry reports including industry overview, trends, outlook, statistics, and much more.
*Marketline
Search by key words, or browse industries.
*NetAdvantage
Click “Industries” on the top.
*Thomson One
IE browser only
*Business Source Complete
Search by key words
Since students’ business plans in this course should focus on the development of a new technology venture, the databases below are ones that provide coverage of technology industries.

12. Finding Industry Information
Key industry databases:
*ProQuest
Browse > Business > Industry and Market research > BMI and First Research reports
*Infomart
Click “industry reports”
*Industry Canada  
Search by key words, NAICS codes or browse industries.

13. Hands on Practice Exercise 2: Industry research
Find a report on hot drinks industry in Canada published by Canadean in 2016 that provides a market snapshot to 2019? (Thomson One)
Find a report on telecommunication industry in Canada. (ProQuest: search by key words or browse BMI reports)
453910
NAICS code: Pet and Pet Supplies Stores

14. Competitive Environment Analysis
Five Forces Analysis

15. Competitive Environment Analysis
Five Forces Analysis using industry databases
 *Marketline 
Type the industry name in the search box and find Five Forces Analysis from the industry report.
Video tutorial: International industry research: Marketline
 Thomson One 
Look in analyst reports for Five Forces Analysis.
Video tutorial: Analyst reports: Thomson One
Tip: Five Forces analysis is not available for every industry. Consider searching for a related industry and evaluate whether or not the same factors apply to the industry you are researching.

16. Competitive Environment Analysis
Five Forces Analysis using Journal databases
ABI/Inform Complete
Business Source Complete
Factiva
LexisNexis Academic
Tips
Use a company or industry name combined with the following sample search terms in any of the above trade journal databases.

17. Competitive Environment Analysis
Five Forces Search Strategies
Buyer Power
size OR concentration* OR market share* OR position* OR dominan*
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
bargain* OR negotiat*
Rivalry
marketplace OR compet* OR market share* OR market size* OR dominan* OR position* OR segment*
Threat of Substitution
differentiat* OR unique* OR new OR improv*
Threat of New entrant
(buyer* OR customer* OR consumer*) AND (preference* OR motivat* OR behavior* OR attitude* OR loyalt* )

18. Competitive Environment Analysis
PEST(LE) Analysis

19. Competitive Environment Analysis
Finding PEST(LE) Analysis Reports
Conduct a country search to locate a complete PESTLE report using Marketline.
Split up each letter or factor separately, i.e. "P – political", and do research on it using the recommended tools in the Bu111 course guide for each factor.

20. Competitive Environment Analysis
Useful databases for PEST(LE) analysis:
*LexisNexis Academic (click “Search by subject or topic” > Country Information)
*Passport (country reports)
*Mergent Online (country profile)
*ProQuest (Browse > Business > Country Reports)
More resources:
Business subject guide > country research
Economics subject guide > statistics and policy papers

21. Hands on Practice Exercise 3:
Find a Five Forces Analysis report on baby food industry of Canada. (Marketline)
Find a PESTLE analysis report on Brazil. (Marketline)
Find a report on coffee industry in Canada including competitive landscape. (Passport)

22. Finding Company Information
Public Companies
Traded on stock exchanges or over-the-counter
Subject to regulation by Security Exchanges
Required by law to file reports publicly
Relatively easier to find information
Recommended resources: *SEDAR, *Mergent Online, *Infomart, *Marketline, *Hoover's Company Records, LexisNexis Academic 
Searching from the company side, you may have a chance to read a story about how the company has developed, e.g. improved profitability by adopting a new information system.

23. Private Companies Not required to report publicly
Much more difficult to find information about them
Recommended resources: *Canadian Company Capabilities, LexisNexis Academic, NetAdvantage, Hoover's Company Records, Infomart, company website, article search
When doing research on your own company or on competitors good to think about are they private or publicly-traded. Quickly show them range of databases available for finding information about publicly-traded companies.
Challenge of finding information about private companies. Talk about what tends to be out there e.g. brief profile information in our databases, competitors info., web site of company itself, articles maybe. Show the list of resources for finding information about private companies.

24. Canadian Company Capabilities
Search by company name or industry
Special Directories (includes Information and Communication Technologies sector)

25. LexisNexis Academic 
(Company Profiles includes company overviews, securities filings, financials. The Dossier link allows for creating a company list)

26. S&P NetAdvantage (Brief company snapshots)
Select “Register Private Co. “ from the drop down list
Choose any combination of basic filters to find Private Companies that match your criteria

27. Finding SWOT reports on a company
Thomson One *
Marketline
Passport *
LexisNexis Academic *
Business Source Complete
Steps: technology-management#libcontent-swot

28. Hands-on Practice Exercise 4 – Company Information
Find a SWOT analysis report on Starbucks Corporation (LexisNexis Academic)
Find competitors of Pet Valu (Hoover’s Company Record via ProQuest Entrepreneurship)
Find financials(revenue, earnings per share) of Dollarama (Infomart)

29. Finding Market Information
Look at market share, brand share, distribution, total sales/revenues, #of competitors, etc.
Tools you can use:
Passport (industry reports and market statistics)*
Market Share Reporter (market statistics)*
Infomart (click "Industry reports") 
Marketline (industry reports)
Industry Canada (industry statistics)
ABI/Inform Complete (articles)
Business Source Complete (articles)

30. Finding Market Information
Passport (consumer electronics sales in Canada)

31. Finding Market Information
Market Share Reporter (e.g. market share of top electronics brands)
Click each title to access the detailed market share info

32. Hands-on Practice Exercise 5 – Market Information
Find the brand shares and company shares of mobile phones in Canada. (Passport)
Find the market shares of top mobile apps in terms of # of visitors. (Market share reporter)

33. Finding Customer Information
Demographic (who they are)
Geographic (where they are)
Behavioristic (how they live)

34. Finding Customer Information
Target customer
Look at consumer demographics
Tools you can use:
Statistics Canada (data)
2011 Canadian Census Profile * 
Canadian National Household Survey *
allow you to search by postal code (e.g. N2L3C5)
Passport * (country reports)
FP Markets: Canadian Demographics (print – Ref HC S9)
CANSIM  time series data including many demographic variables

35. Finding Customer Information
Passport
Look under the Consumers tab and select the sections on the left panel.
Needs updating the first image

36. Finding Customer Information
Location
Consider the geographic area of your business
Tools you can use:
Scott’s Directories *
Canadian Company Capabilities
Lexis Nexis Academic
Build a list of Companies in your industry

37. Chambers of Commerce websites, i.e. Guelph Chamber of Commerce
City websites, i.e. City of Kitchener, City of Waterloo
Trade association websites (select “Associations Canada” only)

38. Finding Customer Information
Consumer spending behaviour & patterns
Tools you can use:
Survey of Household Spending (via CANSIM)*
Passport (reports)
Factiva (surveys & polls) *
ABI/Inform Complete (articles)
Business Source Complete (articles)
Trade association websites (check Associations Canada only)

39. Finding Customer Information
Factiva
can be used to find articles that report on consumer spending behaviour in surveys.
Tip: Click "Subject" then under "All Subjects" expand "Content Types" > click on "Surveys/Polls". Also, can narrow by geographic region. Click "Region" > enter country/province/city name in search box found "All regions".

41. Hands-on Practice Exercise 6 – Customer Information
Find a list of companies in Ontario in the business of mobile applications or mobile messaging services. (Scott’s Directories)
Find the number of immigrants (total, female, male) in the Kitchener - Cambridge – Waterloo area who landed in Canada from
(National Household Survey 2011) Answer: 15,245; 7,255; 7,990
Find the Household expenditures on online services in (Survey of household spending (SHS) via CANSIM, answer: $48 per household)
Table  , 3, 4, 6, 7 Survey of household spending (SHS), household spending, by age of reference person annual (dollars)

42. Financial Analysis- Estimating costs
 * Financial Performance Data - Industry Canada
Find information on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) with annual revenues between $30,000 and $5,000,000.
Include your own and data and compare with industry averages
Help you project your costs as your business grows
Search or browse industry, arranged by NAICS codes  

43. Set up criteria, select an industry and hit “Create report”

45. Hands-on Practice Exercise 7 – Financial Performance Data
Please create a report on pet and pet supplies stores in Ontario

46. Regulations and Patents
Regulations – MaRS A wealth of information from the MaRS library on regulations.
Legal – MaRS A wealth of legal information from the MaRS library.
CanLII  The Canadian Legal Information Institute. Provides free federal and provincial legislation.
Quicklaw  Quicklaw provides full-text access in English and French to all federal regulations.

47. Regulations and Patents
Espacenet  
Free to use and allows PDF downloads of patent documents from over 70 countries.
Canadian Patents Database (CIPO)  
Full-text documents:1920 to present. Allows you to access patent descriptions and images, to search, retrieve and study more than 2,140,000 patent documents.

48. Finding Business Articles
ProQuest
Business Source Complete
Scholars Portal Journals
Factiva
LexisNexis Academic

49. Finding Business Articles
Search strategy tips
Boolean: AND (narrow search); OR (broaden search)
downsizing AND human resources;
“business to business” OR B2B
Truncation: find relevant variants on a word
organiz*, strateg*, manag*
Put phrases in quotes
“human resources management”

50. Citation Laurier Library – Citing Sources:
York University – Business Citation Guide
tions

51. Hands-on Practice Exercise 8 – Finding Articles
Find an article on behaviors of consumers drinking coffee.
Find an article on spending patterns change in retirement

52. Research Help
General questions – ask the library: ◦ By Chat or ◦ By Phone: , ext. 3222
In-depth questions – ask your subject librarian Yanli Li ◦ ◦ Book an appointment form