Business Research

For anyone considering doing business in a foreign country, it is imperative to conduct advance research in order to learn about the country: its culture, its economic system, its business practices and regulations, etc.

Many UMGC Library databases contain country reports that provide an overview for various countries. These databases include:

• ABI/INFORM Collection
• Business Source Ultimate
• Gale Business: Insights

Print books in catalogUSMAI and ebooks in ebook databases such as eBook Collection (on EBSCOhost) contain country information as well.

A variety of country information is also available on the free Web.

Scroll down the page or use the links provided above to learn how to find country information in these different resources.

To find country information in ABI/INFORM Collection, first click on the icon of three horizontal lines toward the top left-hand side of the page:

Then click on the Browse link from the resulting sub-menu.

On the resulting page, scroll down to see links for the available country reports:

To find country reports in Business Source Ultimate, enter a country's name in a search box and scroll down the page to the Search Options section to select Country Report as the publication type:

Login to Gale Business: Insights.

Click on the Browse All Countries/Territoriesbutton toward the bottom of the page, enter a country or territory’s name in the search box, and then click on the country’s or territory’s name on the search results page.

You may be able to find additional country information in the databases listed above and in other UMGC library databases (Academic Search Ultimate, Dissertations & Theses Global, etc.) by conducting a keyword search for a country's name, along with a keyword search for an aspect of the country that you're interested in studying (e.g., japan AND "business etiquette").

There are numerous print books available in catalogUSMAI (the UMGC Library catalog) that discuss how to do business in other countries. These include:

• Doing business globally
• the Doing business in [country name] series
• Doing business internationally: The guide to cross-cultural success
• Global business etiquette: A guide to international communication and customs
• Kiss, bow, or shake hands: The bestselling guide to doing business in more than 60 countries

You can find additional country information in print books in catalogUSMAI by clicking on the advanced search link for the catalog. Enter a country's name and use the drop-down menu to search for the term in the subject field of documents in the catalog. Then enter additional terms of interest in the other search boxes (e.g., japan AND "business etiquette"), as shown in the image below:

There are numerous ebooks available in eBook Collection (on EBSCOhost) that discuss how to do business in other countries. These include:

• Breaking through culture shock: What you need to succeed in international business
• Bridging the culture gap: A practical guide to international business communication
• Countries and their cultures
• Mind your manners
• World business cultures: A handbook

You can find additional country information in ebooks in eBook Collection (on EBSCOhost) by entering a country's name and other terms of interest in the search boxes (e.g., japan AND "business etiquette"), as shown in the image below:

There are numerous free websites that contain reliable country information. Below is a listing of some of these sites.

• Census Bureau International Data Base
  This site from the U.S. Census Bureau provides a variety of demographic data (fertility rates, mortality rates, migration rates, etc.) for countries and certain world regions.
• CIA World Factbook
  This site from the Central Intelligence Agency provides "information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities."
• Deloitte Taxation and Investment Guides
  Consulting firm Deloitte's site provides access to international Taxation and Investment Guides, which are intended to be "a first stop for investors wishing to gain a working perspective on the operating conditions and investment climate -- including the legal, accounting, and taxation framework" in 65 worldwide jurisdictions.
• Department of State Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets
  This frequently updated site from the U.S. Department of State provides numerous country profiles, each of which contains links to sources of additional information.
• Doing Business
  This site, maintained by The World Bank Group, "provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement" for nearly 200 countries and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. To use the site, select a country from the Select an economy menu on the site's home page.
• Euromonitor Country Reports
  This site, maintained by independent, privately owned Euromonitor International, provides "data and analysis of market size, distribution channel analysis, market trends, competitive landscape, legislation, local company profiles, company and brand shares, and five-year forecasts" for 80+ countries. Reports are updated annually.
• globalEDGE
  This site, maintained by Michigan State University, provides statistical data and other information (economic, historic, cultural, etc.) for 200+ countries.
• International Monetary Fund
  The IMF website provides access to reports and data related to countries' finances. See especially the Countries link and/or the Data link toward the top of the page.
• International Trade Centre
  The website of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, provides information for various world regions, countries, and territories.
• Lex Mundi Guides to Doing Business
  The Lex Mundi Guides to Doing Business series provides access to reports covering business, economic, political, and cultural trends in more than 100 countries. Reports are prepared by members of the Lex Mundi global network of law firms.
• OECD iLibrary
  This site includes books and reports as well as statistics and other data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and various other agencies. The site replaced SourceOECD in 2010. Click on the Browse by Country link and/or the Browse by Theme & Country link toward the top of the page.
• Santander Trade Markets
  This site provides access to information about the economy, politics, and trade profile of more than 160 countries. Information is provided about countries' consumers and how products can be distributed in a country, etc.
• TradeStats Express
  This site, presented by the Office of Trade and Industry Information, Manufacturing and Services, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, presents state and national quarterly and annual trade data from the Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau.
• UNdata
  This site, created by the United Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, provides access to millions of data points on a wide variety of topics from national and international databases.
• U.S. Commercial Service Country Commercial Guides
  This site, offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides access to country commercial guides written by U.S. embassy trade experts.
• World Bank Countries and Economies
  This site provides access to a variety of information, including world development indicators, financial information, and climate data. Search results can be exported in different formats.