For various reasons, a company's product or service may not align with an industry classification such as NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) or SIC (Standard Industrial Classification). This can make sourcing, competitive analysis, and lead generation research difficult. This article by Tim Tully, Business Librarian at San Diego State University, provides strategies for company research in these situations.
A Free Library of Philadelphia library card is available at no cost to anyone who lives, works, pays taxes, or goes to school in the City of Philadelphia. In addition, anyone who lives in the state of Pennsylvania can obtain a Free Library card without charge.
The Free Library of Philadelphia has additional resources for company research including:
The Free Library's databases include:
Business Insights: Global (public and private companies, international coverage; company and industry profiles, SWOT reports, market share reports, analyst reports, and financial reports including financial ratios. Also, company histories from the International Directory of Company Histories, industry essays, case studies, and articles from scholarly journals and business news sources.)
OneSource: D&B Business Browser Pro (public and private companies, international coverage, includes analyst reports)
ReferenceUSA (U.S. and Canadian companies)
[these are accessible in branches and online with a Free Library library card]
The Free Library's Parkway Central branch at 1901 Vine Street features the Business Resource & Innovation Center (BRIC) and the Regional Foundation Center (which focuses on the nonprofit sector).
Designed for investors, reports from financial and investment research analysts contain specialized information regarding company performance. Report format, detail, scope, and quality vary by provider but typical sections include a company overview, current or anticipated issues affecting the company's valuation, and financial projections. Compare analyst reports for a particular company in order to cross-reference information and obtain a more robust picture of the current and future status of the company.