Web Resources:

Unlike library databases, Web resources are available wherever you have web access; they do not require that you access them via the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources. For a subject index to web resources, see Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage.
• American Chambers of Commerce Abroad:   The American Chambers of Commerce Abroad "advance the interests of American business overseas. They are voluntary associations of American companies and individuals doing business in a particular country, as well as firms and individuals of that country who operate in the United States. " There are currently 94 American chambers of commerce in 82 countries, affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. As an example, see the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan .

• NationMaster.Com:   This Australian site uses data from the CIA World Factbook and many other sources to provide graphic rankings, lists and interactive comparisons for countries' crime, economy, education, energy, environment, geography, government, health, media, military, people, religion, sports, and transportation, for 251 countries. This site also enables viewing of individual country profiles, with maps and flags, and of regions and groupings. See their Asia and, as an example, Taiwan.

• U.S. Embassies:   The U.S.State Department has embassies and consulates in 140 countries, providing valuable local information for business, usually under the heading of the U.S. Commercial Service. See the U.S. Commercial Service Taiwan, hosted by the American Institute in Taiwan (in the absence of a U.S. embassy).

• Wikipedia:   This free online user-created and maintained encyclopedia, Wikipedia, can be a good starting point for an orientation to a topic. See Asia and the Economy section for Asia. See also their entry on Taiwan and, especially, on the Economy of Taiwan. See also Wikipedia Companies By Country, for Taiwan, including a list of Companies Based in Taiwan.

• World Bank Private Sector Development:   This World Bank site "offers best practice public policy advice for private sector led growth in developing countries. Find expert analysis, powerful databases, quick solutions, and comprehensive "how-to" guides." In particular, see their Business Environment section, which allows you to measure how a country measures up to regional and international standards across a range of criteria involved in setting up or operating a business; it is also possible to compare countries; over 140 countries are included. See Taiwan, China.

The Foster Business Library Reference Collection consists of business handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other quick reference tools. It is located behind the Reference Desk in Foster, arranged by call number. Reference materials cannot be checked out; they may only be used in the library.
• CultureGrams World Edition.
  This four volume set provides four-page profiles for 190 countries, arranged alphabetically by country, with a map, and sections on land and climate, history, people, customs and courtesies, lifestyles, and society (including government, economy, transportation and communications), plus development data, and recent events and trends.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: GT150 .C858 2008.

  See Taiwan in volume four, on pages 221 to 224.

• The global competitiveness report.
  Published by the World Economic Forum, this annual paperback ranks over 80 countries for their competitiveness, with essays and individual country profiles. One of the chapters covers wages in twenty-seven countries for five benchmark positions; another chapter includes rankings for computers and for internet hosts as well as for use of the internet, e-commerce, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF1414 .G563 2007/2008.

  See Taiwan on pages 326 and 327, and in other tables throughout this reference.

• The IMD world competitiveness yearbook.
  This very heavy yearbook, published by the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, provides ranking information in many competitiveness categories for 46 major countries. Among the many categories are international trade, employment, prices, business legislation, labor markets, management practices, impact of globalization, corruption.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF1414 .W67 2007.

  See the country section for Taiwan on pages 254 to 257, and in other tables throughout this reference.

• Kiss, bow or shake hands: how to do business in sixty countries.
  This 400-page paperback is arranged alphabetically by country name, with seven page profiles for each country, detailing the country's history, government, language, religion and demographics, cognitive styles, negotiation strategies, value systems, locus of decision making, sources of anxiety reduction, issues of equality, business practices, protocol, gestures, dress and gifts.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5389 .M67 2006.

  See Taiwan on pages 495 to 505.

• Directory of American firms operating in foreign countries.
  This four-volume annual publication lists over 4,000 U.S. companies with over 60,000 branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates in 191 countries.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4538 .A1 .D5 2007.

  See volume four, pages 5898 to 5979, for American companies operating in Taiwan(ROC).

• Doing business and investing series.
  These 200-page country profiles, for about 24 countries, prepared by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, cover business environment, opportunities for foreign investment and trade, investment incentives and restrictions, the regulatory situation, banking, business entities, labor relations and social security, auditing and accounting practices and tax. New countries are added to this set since it was first published in 1999. An earlier series, Doing Business In, covers another 75 countries, published from 1984 to 1998. Click here for a list of the titles in both series by country; not all countries are covered.

  See the volume for Taiwan, published in 2003.

The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of over 70,000 books on all business topics. To search for materials on all three campuses of the University of Washington, go to the UW Libraries Catalog, in the upper left corner of the Foster Business Library homepage. Search by keyword, title, author, series, etc.

To limit the results of your search just to materials in the Foster Business Library collection, use the Modify or Limit options at the top of the search results and change the library location to Foster Business Library. Availablity is indicated on the right of each online catalog record. First, note in which collection, within Foster, your materials are in, since the library has ten different Collections, each in a different location and often with differing arrangements. "Available" indicates that the book should be on the shelves under that call number and available for you to check out. "Due" and a date indicates that the book is already checked out to someone and is due back on the date indicated; you can have the "Request/Place Hold" feature to recall the book for your use.

If the material you want is not in the collections of the University of Washington, you can use the "Search Summit" feature to repeat your search in the combined holdings of over thirty cooperating libraries in Washington and Oregon. Use the "Request This Item" feature in Summit to have books in those library sent here to Foster for you to check out.

The Foster general stacks collection is located south of the main part of the Foster Business Library, through the two pass-throughs into the basement of Balmer. The arrangement is by call number, from A (at the east end, near the Copy Center) to Z (at the far west end).

A keyword search for Taiwan, limited to the Foster Business Library, produced over 65 records.

Foster Business Library titles from these searches include:

• Powerhouse marketing plans   (2004)   (See chapter 11, for "Eagle Central Air Conditioners in Taiwan")
• The future of Chinese management   (2003)   (See the chapter on a Comparative Study of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan)
• Divergent capitalisms: the social structuring and change of business systems   (1999)   (See the chapter on post-war business systems of South Korea and Taiwan)

Also recommended, for this course, is this Foster Business Library title:

• The global entrepreneur: taking your business international   (2004 and 1999 editions)

Foster Business Library Articles:

In addition to the 800 journals in the Foster Business Library Periodicals Collection, the Foster Business Library offers access to over 100 million full text articles in over 10,000 periodicals through its full text article databases such as Factiva, and Lexis-Nexis Academic, and ProQuest Databases. These article databases may be found on the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Databases.

All three of these databases are available from any computer on the campus network as well as from home (via the UW Connectivity Kit or the Libraries' Off-Campus Access link, using your UW Net ID and password). The easiest of these databases to use is ProQuest Databases. For more information about accessing Foster Business Library databases from off campus, see Database Access. For more information about business databases, see the research guide entitled Databases, A to Z.

• ProQuest Databases:

  This database--actually, a family of over two dozen databases--offers full text articles for over 10,000 publications, including scholarly journals, magazines, trade and industry periodicals, newspapers, and reports on a very wide range of topics. To find articles on specific topics, search by word or phrase by keying your search phrase into the search box--or search for your topic in the Topic Guide.

  Your search terms will be highlighted in red in each article. For tips on searching this database, see About ProQuest.

  A basic search for Business and Taiwan in this database produced over 41,000 articles; for "American Products" and Taiwan, over one hundred articles.

  Examples of articles from these searches include:

  • "A Study of Human Resource Development and Organizational Change in Taiwan"   (Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge. Hollywood: Mar 2007. Vol. 11, Iss. 1;  pg. 309, 6 pgs)
  • "India, China lead bribery index"   (African Business. London: Dec 2006. , Iss. 326;  pg. 42, 2 pgs)
  • "Foreign attraction"   (Canadian Business. Toronto: Summer 2006. Vol. 79, Iss. 10;  pg. 163, 2 pgs)
  • "Taiwan's Economy in 2005 "   (Far Eastern Affairs. Minneapolis: Jul-Sep 2006. Vol. 34, Iss. 3;  pg. 140, 7 pgs)
  • "Asia: Getting acquainted; India and Taiwan"   (The Economist. London: Feb 18, 2006. Vol. 378, Iss. 8465;  pg. 64)
  • "Why Taiwan's Voters Are Fed Up with Chen"   (Business Week. New York: Dec 5, 2005. , Iss. 3962;  pg. 33)
  • "The Asian Market: Taiwan"   (Printed Circuit Design & Manufacture. Atlanta: Nov 2005. Vol. 22, Iss. 11;  pg. 38, 4 pgs)

The Foster Business Library Reference Desk is staffed nearly all of the hours that the library is open. The staff at the desk will be happy to help you find business research tools and resources, exploit business databases to the fullest or advise on research strategies. For e-mail questions, direct your query to balib@u.washington.edu. For assistance by telephone, dial (206) 543-8012 during library hours.

For research guides on a wide variety of industries, products, companies, issues and topics, see the Team Librarian Consultation archives.

• Team Consultation Archive (By Country or Market)
• Team Consultation Course/Program Index      (IBUS Assignments)
• Team Consultation Industry Index
• Team Consultation Quarter Index
• Team Consultation Title Index
• Team Consultation and Research Guide Index
  • Business Culture Resources
  • Foreign Direct Investment Resources
  • Globalization Resources
  • Import—Export Resources
  • International Business Resources
  • Top IBUS 300 Resources