| This guide covers services that can be used to collect competitor information. Most services are available on the free web although users may need to register at some sites. A few are Babson subscription services provided by Horn Library with links to access instructions.
Company Information Gateways
If you don't locate your target company through the sites below, try Google, Yahoo, Internic Internet domain registration files, other Internet search engines and specialized Directories.
- CorporateInformation - "currently carries content from Wright Investors' Service, and also has a search engine of 350,000 profiles located at other sites." It links to profiles at Hoovers, OneSource CorpTech, the Vault, etc.
Hoovers Online- provides brief profiles of public, private and international companies plus links to major competitors, SEC filings and news wire stories. Longer profiles are available for to subscribers, such as Horn Library.
- Internetnews.com - for publicly-traded U.S. companies, this is a great place to start. This site links to several SEC filings sites, plus various news services, stock charts, and much, much more.
Public Register's Annual Report Service - paper copies of annual reports for 3000 companies can requested at this site, but you will need to register. You can also view annual reports at company web sites and through Horn Library's Thomson Research service.
Thomson Research - provides SEC filings formatted for downloading plus Annual Reports to Stockholders in image format. All companies that file with the SEC plus international companies are covered.
Current News
The gateway sites above also provide links to newswire services available on the Web. If your company is not available at those sites, try the news sites below as well as Periodical Services and the Internet search engines.
Reuters MoneyNet - Reuters provides news from the last 30 days plus other market data. Click the Quick Nav drop list to see your different options.
Yahoo! Finance - BusinessWire, PR Newswire and S&P mergers & acquisitions news are searchable along with quotes and other data.
BizJournals - Search over 40 local business weeklies for articles on local divisions and private companies.
PR Newswire News on Call
Finding Local Newspapers and Trade Journals
Internet Public Library: Online Newspapers and Journals, Magazines - Many online newspapers have a search feature to locate local information on topics.
Newslink
Editor and Publisher Interactive
Tracking News
PR Newswire News on Call
Individual, Inc
Major Periodical Services
When you first embark on a research quest, the subscription services that collect articles from thousands of services can save enormous time. Watch for tips on library's instruction pages and at the services. These services have advanced techniques for focusing your search.
- Factiva - When InfoTrac teases you with references to newspaper and magazine articles but no fulltext, go to Factiva. Factiva has an easy interface that allows you to quickly figure out how to do a sophisticated search.
Click Examples above the search box for brief suggestions. But before you execute, click the Select Sources + button to limit to publications, web sites or company profiles, or choose the Source Browser link to limit to a group of publications you select. You can select by title, region, industry, type or choose All Content- for 8000 or more.
RDS Bizsuite - Tablebase and the Business and Industry Database from RDS allows you to hone in on the specific kind of data your need: market share, market size, industry overview, company strategy, etc.
Proquest - Search fulltext and abstracts of articles from over 4000 business journals and magazines. Look for information on products, companies, countries and concepts. Take advantage of the great indexing and hone in your search using the subject headings assigned to good articles you find. The Advanced Search feature and the hints on the search screen can give you tips.
General Business File ASAP with Investext. - is know for its browsability, ease of use and its handy mix of article references and fulltext, company directory and rankings, and financial analysts reports. Its article coverage runs from newspaper citations to fulltext of academic and trade journals. Directory listings are from Ward's with SIC code company lists and links to Investext analysts reports. Definitely begin company research here.
Financial Analysts Reports
Investext Plus - provides association and investment analysts reports, mostly in PDF format. General Business File has a more selective listing of reports in text format.
- Multex.com - Individuals can order analysts reports from this site for a fee.
More Directories for Private Companies
Directories will usually have at least basic information about smaller companies - address, officers, sales, number of employees and brief product descriptions. Electronic directories, such as Thomas Register, Dun's Million Dollar Database; and specialized print directories, such as OneSource CorpTech Database with more detailed reports on the Babson network; and others, often give even more data. Ask your librarian for suggestions.
Patents and Other Technical Information
See our Technological Change-Patents guide for additional information and links.
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office - allows you to search US patent databases for patents back to 1974 as well as World intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), European Patents and Applications, and Japanese patent information.
Trade Show Central - identify trade shows where companies may be demonstrating their products.
Tech Calendar
Books
Larger companies may have been the subject of books. Check out what Babson has by using the WEBnet Library Catalog available from the Library Web Site. Or use online book stores such as Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Internet Search Engines
There is a vast amount of information out there on the Internet. - Begin at Google or Yahoo if you are looking up a general topic or an organization's web site.
- For a full search of individual pages on the Internet use a search engine such as Google, Altavista or Excite.
- Fee-based Northern Light organizes results in folders to help you hone in on various areas.
- Discussion and news groups can be browsed and searched at Google.
General Tips for Internet Searching - use the following conventions with most Internet search engines (but not in the commercial periodicals databases): -
- Put phrases in quotes:
- "Babson College"
- Put proper names in capital letters:
- "General Motors"
- Use + to include, - to exclude
- "Three Musketeers" -candy
Locating Experts
Reference Librarians - Reference librarians at Horn Library, your company's library, and commercial information brokers can give you tips and assist you in locating information. Librarians at local public libraries can be particularly helpful for information on local companies. They also create guides to special areas such as Electronic Commerce.
ProfNet
American Society of Association Executives: Gateway
Encyclopedia of Associations via LexisNexis in busref;enassc - HS17.E6 (Information Desk1)
Nelson's Directory of Investment Managers via Bloomberg - HG4907.N44 (Information Desk1) - For financial analysts that cover specific industries and companies.
- Sources and Experts
About Competitive Intelligence
Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) - What is competitive intelligence? Find out from the professionals.
Competitive Intelligence Guide, Fuld & Company - Leonard Fuld wrote one of the earliest books devoted to researching companies and industries. Fuld & Company's web site provides tools for focusing research to specific needs and the I3 Internet Intelligence Index links to web sources.
Washington Researchers - experts in researching elusive private companies and mining government resources. Their web site includes research tips and analyses.
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