Research, Citation, & Class Guides: International Business: International Companies &amp; Industries

International Industries

Use these sources to get a sense of how the industry is performing in a particular country or region.

Think about:

What customer trends or preferences might be different there?
What cultural issues might affect how my product is perceived, consumed, or purchased?
What political issues might affect how my product (or a person from the U.S.) is perceived or consumed? (see also the Country tab for this)
and more...

IBISWorld
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IBISWorld contains many Global industry reports, as well as its U.S. industry reports. They look very similar in structure and style to the U.S. reports, so be careful in your searching to be sure you are looking at an international report!
Statista
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Statista contains many statistics about international industry trends in many countries. Search for your industry keyword plus the name of your country or the region.
ProQuest One Business
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Online business library database of millions of full-text items across scholarly and popular periodicals, newspapers, market research reports, dissertations, books, videos and more. See Vendor's guide for useful information.
Partial funding provided by UW System Shared Electronic Collection.
Business Source Complete
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This contains a wide variety of articles on lots of business topics, not just international business. Search for your industry keywords plus the country of interest.
It can also be searched using Enhanced Interface Searching.
Funding provided by the College of Business & Economics.
Business Insights: Global (Gale)
This contains articles as well as statistical insights into doing business in various countries.

International Trade Statistics

While you may have to dig a little more to obtain useful information, studying trade flows between countries can give you some good insights into the relative strengths or weaknesses of a particular industry in your country.

Direction of Trade Statistics
The Direction of Trade Statistics shows current figures for import and export values, and which country is the seller or recipient of those trades.
World Integrated Trade Solution
From the World Bank, this tool visualizes a country's or region's exports and imports with various trading partners.

UN Comtrade
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Official trade statistics and analysis. Annual trade statistics since 1962 and monthly trade statistics since 2010.
USA Trade Online
Monthly statistical information on U.S. imports and exports of thousands of commodities.
Note: Create a FREE personal account to see the data. Click on the "Sign-Up Now" button and follow their directions.
IMF eLibrary Data
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Contains these economic datasets: International Financial Statistics, Balance of Payment Statistics, Government Finance Statistics, and Direction of Trade Statistics.

International Companies

International companies do not use the same SIC and NAICS codes as we use here in North America.

However, there is a rough international equivalent -- the International SIC (ISIC) codes.

Open the document below. It is a PDF, so use Ctrl+F and enter a keyword related to your industry, to find the relevant codes.

ISIC Codes
The PDF document from the United Nations, outlining the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC codes).

Once you have identified an ISIC number, you can use that to help you identify other companies internationally.

Think about whether you are looking for:

competitors
suppliers or other partners, such as transportation or storage providers
customers, if your company is B2B

You can find all of these by using different codes.