Foster Business Library


International Business Research


Foster Business Library research guides are aimed at University of Washington students, faculty, and staff, highlighting resources available to them; users not currently affiliated with the university may be unable to access some of these resources.
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This is the short version of a longer guide to international business resources; for the longer version, click here. See also the shorter Top Ten IBUS Resources.

Foster Business Library Databases:

The Foster Business Library offers an extensive collection of over fifty databases on its homepage; see under Databases. For a complete list of Foster databases, see the List of All Business Databases. Access to these databases from off campus requires that you first go to the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. These resources may not be accessed from off campus except by those with a valid UW Net ID and password. For more information on Foster business databases, click Databases, A-Z. For information on which Foster business databases to use, see the Database Index. For information on accessing Foster databases from off campus, see Database Access. For guidelines on responsible database usage, see Database Usage.

  • EIU Online:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases. This database, provided by the Economist Intelligence Unit, provides online access to their annual Country Profiles, quarterly Country Reports, and annual Country Commerce, for nearly 200 countries, with both current and retrospective publications. There is also access in this database to the Economist Intelligence Unit's Viewswires, with up-to-date coverage of countries and topics. Use Search to search for topics within countries or across all countries. As an example, see the information available for Italy.

  • Gale Virtual Reference Library:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under List of All Business Databases.   The Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research; go to Business for three major business sources:   the Encyclopedia of American Industries (4th ed., 2005), the Encyclopedia of Business and Finance (2001), and the Encyclopedia of Small Business (2nd ed., 2002). Under Nation and World, see Countries and Their Cultures, 2001; as an example, see the section on Italy.

  • Global Financial Data:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, under Other Business Databases.   This database provides access to over 20,000 series of long-term global financial and economic data, both current and historic, gathered from original sources and historic archives, for more than 200 countries. Data is in ASCII or Microsoft Excel format.

  • Hoovers Online:   Under Business Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. Hoovers Online offers information for about 40,000 public and private companies worldwide, with links to company homepages and annual reports, etc. See Hoovers Online list of companies Outside the U.S., and their list of over 115,000 companies, in this database, in Italy.

  • Kompass:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases. Directory information for 1.9 million companies in 75 countries, with indexes for company products and services, containing 23 million product and service references, and 500,000 trademarks and brand names. Use this database to identify the 117 companies in Italy, for instance, that manufacture bicycles.

  • MarketResearch.com Academic:   This database contains comprehensive full-text market research reports covering a broad range of markets, industries, and companies from reputable market intelligence sources such as Packaged Facts, Icon Group, and many others, for U.S. and global markets, covering over 2,000 industries and products.

    As an example, a search for the term Italy produced over 16,000 reports.

  • Mergent Online:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases. Online access to the print edition of the Mergent Manuals, with extensive information on 11,000 U.S. as well as 17,000 international companies, including financials, stock, properties, joint ventures, annual reports, subsidiaries, S.E.C. filings, etc. For search tips, see About Mergent Online. As an example, see their list of over 200 companies in Italy.

  • STAT-USA:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases. In this database are business, economic, and trade statistics and data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and other Federal government sources. To access international information, go to:

    • Country Commercial Guides: These guides contain information on the business and economic situation of foreign counties and the political climate as it affects U.S. business. They are produced annually by U.S. Embassy staff including the Department of State, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Agriculture. The guides include the following sections: leading trade prospects for U.S. business, economic environment, political environment, marketing U.S. products and services, trade regulations and standards, investment climate, financing and business travel. The most recent guide for Italy, for example, is dated 2004, where the top sector for U.S. exports is in Computer Services.

    • Market Research Reports: These analyses are in-depth profiles of a selected industry subsector. They include an analysis of the market opportunities, end-users, competitors, market access, distribution channels, market barriers and financing options. The reports list best sales prospects, trade promotion opportunities, and in-country contacts. These reports are produced by the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service in 67 markets worldwide. For Italy, for instance, there are ten International Market Insight Reports (including one on business opportunities associated with the Turin Winter Olympics) and over sixty Industry Sector Analysis Reports (including one on the Italian bicycle market).

    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 Italy .

  • CIA World Factbook:   These brief country profiles, prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency, offer information about government, economy, GDP, CPI, labor force, unemployment rate, budget, industries, agriculture, export, import, telecommunications, debt, foreign aid for 251 countries. As an example, see Italy.

  • FITA Country Profiles:   With over 450 member associations, the "Federation of International Trade Associations, founded in 1984, fosters international trade by strengthening the role of local, regional, and national associations throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada that have an international mission."

  • Foreign Embassies in the U.S.:   Foreign embassies in the United States often provide English-language websites with substantial offerings of trade and economic information about the country itself and its commercial relations with the U.S. These sites often include links to further information such as national statistical agencies, trade confederations and manufacturers associations. As an example, see the Embassy of Italy in the U.S.

  • GlobalEDGE:   "Created by the Center for International Business Education and Research at Michigan State University (MSU-CIBER), globalEDGE™ is a knowledge web-portal that connects international business professionals worldwide to a wealth of information, insights, and learning resources on global business activities. Partially funded by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI B grant, globalEDGE™ is your source for global business knowledge." See their Country Insights for country profiles and Company Directories, Global, for regional and country corporate directories. As an example, see their information for Italy and Italian Companies.

  • Human Development Report:   "The Human Development Report is an independent report. It is commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is the product of a selected team of leading scholars, development practitioners and members of the Human Development Report Office of UNDP." See Data by Indicator for agriculture, carbon dioxide emissions, cellular subscribers, debt service, drugs, employment by economic activity, energy use, exports, FDI, GDP, imports, and much more.

  • Market Research (Export.Gov):   This U.S. Department of Commerce site is designed to be an export portal for American businesses, seeking export markets. Over 100,000 market research reports are available from this site, aimed at exporters. The site also offers country and trade information and data, market and industry reports, and more. Access to some information requires free registration. As an example, see more than 500 market reports that refer to Italy or All Exports to Italy, 2004, from the U.S.

  • National Statistical Agencies:   National statistical agencies are excellent sources for official demographic, trade, economic, and financial information; links to the statistical agencies of 120 countries are included on this U.S. Census Bureau site. Many countries offer an English language version of their national statistical agency websites. This site is made available by the U.S. Census Bureau. For example, see the English version of ISTAT, Italy's statistical bureau.

  • NationMaster.Com:   This Australian site uses data from the 2002 CIA World Factbook above 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. As an example, see Italy.

  • U.S. Embassies:   The U.S. State Department has embassies and consulates in 140 countries, with their individual websites often providing valuable local information for business, usually under the heading of the U.S. Commercial Service. The Commercial Service provides information for U.S. businesses interested in exporting to the country as well as information for companies in the country where the embassy is located about doing business with the U.S. For instance, see the U.S. embassy in Rome and the U.S. Commercial Service in Italy.

  • Wikipedia Companies By Country:   This section of the free and unedited Wikipedia encyclopedia supplies profiles for hundreds of U.S. and international firms, both public and private, browsing the various categories (by country, by stock exchange, or by industry) or searching by company name. As an example, see their more than fifty companies listed for Italy.

  • 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 also their Investment Climate section for over fifty countries, and their Papers and Links.

  • World Economic Forum:   The World Economic Forum is "an independent international organization incorporated as a Swiss not-for-profit foundation and has NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations." See their Country Competitiveness Profiles for 80 countries, from their publication entitled Global Competitiveness Report as well as from their Global Information Technology Report. See also their Themes, for collections of information on such topics as International and Regional Trade. As an example, see their competitiveness profile for Italy.

    Foster Business Library Reference Collection:

    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.

  • Global, Inc.: an atlas of the multinational corporation.
    This large heavily-illustrated, map-rich paperback covers the foundations of globalization, the history of multinational corporations, global corporations by industry, the impacts of multinational corporations on employment and wages, taxes, technology, capital, culture, environment, and standards, and the governance of multinational corporations.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: G1046 .Q1 .G3 2003.

  • CultureGrams World Edition.
    This large two volume ring binder 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 2006.

  • International marketing data and statistics.
    Demographic trends and forecasts, economic indicators, labor force, trade, energy, environment, consumer expenditures and market size, and retailing information for the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania; companion volume to European marketing data and statistics.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA42 .I56 2003.

  • European marketing data and statistics.
    Demographic trends and forecasts, economic indicators, labor force, trade, energy, environment, consumer expenditures and market size, and retailing information for European countries. See pages 54 to 55 for Italy, and elsewhere throughout this volume.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA1107 .E87 2003.

  • Index of economic freedom.
    This annual paperback, jointly issued by the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal, ranks 156 countries in terms of foreign investment friendliness, taxes, tariffs, banking regulations, monetary policy, black markets, net foreign direct investment, etc. Arrangement is alphabetical by country. See Italy on pages 241 to 242.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HB95 .I48 2002.

  • World development indicators.
    This World Bank volume contains a large number of tables listing each country and key data about its people, environment, economy, markets, employment, poverty, etc. For data about personal computers, internet hosts, secure servers, etc., see section 5.10 for Information Age.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC59.15 .W656 2006.
    Also available, in part, online at http://www.worldbank.org/data/wdi/home.html.

  • World consumer income patterns.
    This Euromonitor publication provides global coverage of comparable income distribution data, over time and across countries, for 71 major countries, divided into socio-economic parameters, cross country comparisons, and snapshots for over seventy countries. See Italy on pages 292 to 296.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC79 .I5 .W675 2003.

  • The global information technology report.
    This World Economic Forum publication provides country profiles and data about the diffusion of information technology, along with chapters on network readiness, global diffusion of information technology, information technology and poverty, regulatory reform, and a case study on Finland. See Italy on page 156.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC79 .I55 .G56 2003-2004.

  • Asian development outlook.
    This short one-volume annual reference work, published by the Asian Development Bank, focuses on economic trends and prospects in 37 Asian nations, including the Asian republics formerly part of the U.S.S.R. There are tables covering major economic indicators for many of the countries, GDP, balance of payments, etc.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC411 .A17 2004.

  • Business: the ultimate resource.
    This 2,200-page single volume is "designed to offer a wide range of insights, information, and practical guidance on every aspect of management" via 2.5 million words of text from 200 contributors, with 700 illustrations and 150 maps, in seven major sections including best practice, a management library, business thinkers and management giants, a business dictionary, a world business almanac, and a guide to business sources. See the World Business Almanac section, on pages 1368 to 1767, for brief reports on 150 countries. See Italy on pages 1604 to 1606.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD38.15 .B878 2002.

  • International trade statistics yearbook.
    This annual United Nations publication, in two volumes, provides international trade information in considerable detail. Volume one is arranged alphabetically by country, for 179 countries, with data on imports and exports by region and trading partner, as well as by principal commodities, product categories, economic categories, and industrial origin. Volume two covers trade by commodity. See Italy in volume one, on pages 507 to 514.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF91 .Y4 2003.

  • Terms of trade.
    This paperback is a good source for explanations of international trade and economics terms.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF1373 .D43 2006.

  • A handbook of world trade: a strategic guide to trading internationally.
    This volume offers essays on the origins and nature of the World Trade Organization, patterns and trends in world trade, regulatory issues and disputes, the management of foreign currencies in international trade, international trade finance and documentation (methods of settlement, documentary credits, letters of credit, etc.), international trade development issues, and electronic commerce in world trade, with ten appendices.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF1379 .H366 2004.

  • 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. There is an index to criteria on pages 704 to 717. See Italy on pages 230 to 235.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF1414 .W67 2005.

  • 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. See Italy on pages 304 to 305.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF1414 .G563 2004/2005.

  • Dun & Bradstreet's guide to doing business around the world.
    Covering the U.S.'s top forty trade partners, this reference work offers ten page country summaries about these forty countries that include five top cultural tips plus brief demographic data, holidays, and work week information. Each country profile also includes brief information about economics, the five largest businesses, comparative data, trade flows with the U.S., country risk, monetary policy, trade policy, intellectual property rights, foreign investment climate, politics, passport and visa requirements, and contact information. See Italy on pages 216 to 228.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF1416 .M78 2001.

  • Washington state international trade directory.
    This annual directory provides brief profiles of Washington state companies involved in importing and exporting. There are indexes by product, by industry code and a geographic index by country, as well as support service listings for attorneys, consultants, translators, and transportation. See Italy on pages 276 to 277.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5065 .W2 .W37 2003.

  • Encyclopedia of business ethics and society.
    This five-volume reference work includes 900 essays by scholars, arranged alphabetically by topic, on all aspects of business ethics. See International Trade in volume three, on pages 1174 to 1178.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5387 .E53 2008.

  • International financial statistics yearbook.
    Published annually by the International Monetary Fund, this compendium of statistics for every country provides information on population, GDP, producer, wholesale and consumer prices, wages, labor force, unemployment, volume and value of imports and exports, and many other categories. Statistics cover each year of the past 30 years, where data is available. The most recent decade of the monthly version of this yearbook is available in the Foster Business Library Reference Serials collection, with the call number HG3881 .I626. See Italy on pages 381 to 384.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG3881 .I6263 2004.

  • Directory of foreign firms operating in the United States.
    This annual source provides information about 2,800 foreign firms in 79 countries who operate over 7,200 businesses in the U.S. See Italy on pages 812 to 851.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4057 .A155 2004.

  • LexisNexis corporate affiliations: who owns whom.
    This set of eight volumes covers over fifty thousand U.S. and international companies and their subsidiaries, with a master index in volumes one and two; U.S. public companies in volumes three and four; U.S. private companies in volumes five and six; and international public and private companies in volumes seven and eight.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4057 .A219 2005.

  • Directory of American firms operating in foreign countries.
    This four-volume annual publication lists over 4,000 U.S. companies with 63,000 branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates in 191 countries.
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4538 .A1 .D5 2007.

  • Global corruption report.
    This annual publication, published by Transparency International, usually focuses, each year, on a theme, such as corruption and health in the 2006 issue, with reports on this issue in many countries in part one. Part two consists of country reports from nations with corruption problems, with over forty countries included in the 2006 issue (including the U.S.).
    Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: JF1081 .G56 2006.

  • 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. The volume for Italy is outdated, published in 1993.

    Foster Business Library Books:

    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 International Business produced a list of over 4,000 records in the UW Libraries, with over 1,900 records in the Foster Business Library.

    Searches by country name, limited to the Foster Business Library, are also an excellent way to identify books on business in a country, or doing business in a country.

    Examples of such searches, for titles in the Foster Business Library, include:

    Relevant subjects and Foster Business Library holdings include:

    As an example, a keyword search for Italy (limited to the Foster Business Library), retrieved over 75 records. Foster Business Library Articles:

    Articles in academic journals, magazines, trade periodicals, and newspapers are one of the best sources for any kind of research. While the Foster Business Library offers a large periodicals print collection, comprising over 800 titles, articles are most easily accessed online, 24/7, in such fulltext article databases as EBSCO Business Source Premier, Factiva, LexisNexis Academic, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest Databases. These article databases are available in the library or from off-campus, and provide access to over 10,000 periodicals and millions of articles.

    Library access to most ProQuest databases will terminate at the end of spring quarter 2008, except for ProQuest NewsStand, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Historical New York Times, and the Historical Wall Street Journal. For more about this change, see UW Libraries Providing New Databases. After this change, comprehensive article searches should be performed in EBSCO Business Source Premier, Newsbank Infoweb, and ProQuest NewsStand. Also, after this change, links to the articles below will be broken.

    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.

    As an example, a search in this database for the Italy and Exports retrieved over 2,000 articles, including nearly 100 articles in scholarly journals, over 100 articles in other magazines, over 900 articles in trade and industry periodicals, and over 900 articles in newspapers.

    Help:

    9 September 2003; updated 8 May 2008.   Peter Stevens, Business Librarian, stevens@u.washington.edu