This research guide is meant to help you find information to support your group project and presentation for Business Strategy for Lawyers.
This guide is not designed to be comprehensive; rather, the goal is to expose you to potentially useful resources for finding information on companies, industries, and regional, country and demographic information.
While conducting your research, you will want to learn about: (1) a company and its competitors, (2) the industry in which a company operates, and (3) the general economic and demographic factors informing a company’s decision to, for example, move operations to a different geographic area.
Remember: Research requires analysis and synthesis of information, and no one resource will likely provide sufficient information or data on any given topic.
Also remember: You are always invited to visit with a librarian to learn more about finding information. You may stop by the law school library (Langdell) Reference Desk or email Lisa Junghahn at Ljunghahn@law.harvard.edu with any and all of your research questions! (Never pay out-of-pocket for any research you find on the web.)
In addition, your research will likely require you or your group to visit the Harvard Business School library (Baker). For information on the library, visit: http://www.library.hbs.edu/. The Baker librarians are very friendly and helpful!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Companies
While analyzing a company's business strategy, you will want to think about how the company is structured and operated, how its resources are invested (for producing goods and services), and how its operations are financed (i.e., what is its mix of debt and equity).
1. The first place to look is at the company’s website. The website will give you a lot of information, whether implicit or otherwise. (Keep in mind that you are likely not the intended audience of the website.)
a. You may find the company’s Investor Relations page to be particularly useful. This page will allow you to read about the company’s financials, listen to archived investor calls, and download quarterly and annual corporate reports (filed with the SEC). In short, the Investor Relations page is important for learning about both the financials of a company and its own view of the future.
2. Business Researchers often pay close attention to a (public) company’s corporate reports, which are filed with the SEC. The most important report is a company’s 10-K, which is a detailed annual report divided into two sections. The financial section includes a statistical summary of operations for the last five years, financial statements for each line of business, legal proceedings, and a list of diagram of parents and subsidiaries. The supporting data in the second section includes a list of principal stockholders, security holdings of management, and a list of directors with terms-of-office information.
a. U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) allows you to find, among other things, quarterly and annual filings.
b. LexisNexis provides easy (searchable) access to corporate reports.
3. Finally, you may want to look at equity analyst reports on a specific company. These reports provide information on companies (or industries) with the goal of offering investment advice; they are considered to be objective for general information, though some of the conclusions may be guided by investment banking conflicts.
a. For the best access to analyst reports, visit the Harvard Business School library, where you can access further proprietary databases, like Investext and S&P NetAdvantage.
b. Bloomberg also provides some access to equity reports. A Bloomberg terminal is made available to law students by the fourth-floor Reference Desk. Here is a quick Guide to Bloomberg. In addition, students may be provided with an individual account; contact Lisa Junghahn: Ljunghahn@law.harvard.edu.
1. The first place to look is at the company’s website. The website will give you a lot of information, whether implicit or otherwise. (Keep in mind that you are likely not the intended audience of the website.)
a. You may find the company’s Investor Relations page to be particularly useful. This page will allow you to read about the company’s financials, listen to archived investor calls, and download quarterly and annual corporate reports (filed with the SEC). In short, the Investor Relations page is important for learning about both the financials of a company and its own view of the future.
2. Business Researchers often pay close attention to a (public) company’s corporate reports, which are filed with the SEC. The most important report is a company’s 10-K, which is a detailed annual report divided into two sections. The financial section includes a statistical summary of operations for the last five years, financial statements for each line of business, legal proceedings, and a list of diagram of parents and subsidiaries. The supporting data in the second section includes a list of principal stockholders, security holdings of management, and a list of directors with terms-of-office information.
a. U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) allows you to find, among other things, quarterly and annual filings.
b. LexisNexis provides easy (searchable) access to corporate reports.
3. Finally, you may want to look at equity analyst reports on a specific company. These reports provide information on companies (or industries) with the goal of offering investment advice; they are considered to be objective for general information, though some of the conclusions may be guided by investment banking conflicts.
a. For the best access to analyst reports, visit the Harvard Business School library, where you can access further proprietary databases, like Investext and S&P NetAdvantage.
b. Bloomberg also provides some access to equity reports. A Bloomberg terminal is made available to law students by the fourth-floor Reference Desk. Here is a quick Guide to Bloomberg. In addition, students may be provided with an individual account; contact Lisa Junghahn: Ljunghahn@law.harvard.edu.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Industries
You will also want to learn about the industry in which a company operates. Generally, the best place to find industry information is by looking at equity analyst reports, industry reports, and trade & association publications.
1. Equity analyst reports are mainly available at the Harvard Business School library (per the above discussion).
2. For industry reports, librarians recommend the following databases:
a. Mintel Reports
b. Global Market Information Database
c. Table Base (more data oriented)
3. For trade & association publications, librarians recommend the following:
a. Look for specific appropriate sites at Encyclopedia of Associations.
b. Once you have located relevant associations, you will want to visit the association website to read more about the organization and its mission. Keep in mind that some organizations operate as a special interest (e.g., National Rifle Association), while others are more benign (e.g., American Bar Association). Many organizations support a trade publication. Likely you will find out what publications are available by visiting specific websites.
i. To access specific publications, search by title name in Hollis, under under the Journal Titles tab.
1. Equity analyst reports are mainly available at the Harvard Business School library (per the above discussion).
2. For industry reports, librarians recommend the following databases:
a. Mintel Reports
b. Global Market Information Database
c. Table Base (more data oriented)
3. For trade & association publications, librarians recommend the following:
a. Look for specific appropriate sites at Encyclopedia of Associations.
b. Once you have located relevant associations, you will want to visit the association website to read more about the organization and its mission. Keep in mind that some organizations operate as a special interest (e.g., National Rifle Association), while others are more benign (e.g., American Bar Association). Many organizations support a trade publication. Likely you will find out what publications are available by visiting specific websites.
i. To access specific publications, search by title name in Hollis, under under the Journal Titles tab.
Country, Regional, and Demographic Information
Companies use country, regional, and demographic information to help inform strategy decisions. Statistics and other data may be organized by country and otherwise (i.e., by economic indicators).
1. For country briefs, librarians recommend:
a. World Bank Country and Region Reports
b. CIA World Factbook
c. EIU Country Report
2. For further country data, librarians recommend:
a. World Economic Outlook Report (IMF)
b. Organization for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD)
c. EIU Data Services: Country Data
3. Additional sources for U.S. demographic data:
a. FedStats provides access to the full range of official statistical information by the Federal Government.
b. Census Bureau National Data Book
c. You may find an incredible amount of data and statistics by exploring various agency publications. Examples include:
i. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
ii. Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)
d. Finally, there are numerous think-tanks and other non-profits that publish working papers on a variety of relevant data and statistics; for example:
i. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
1. For country briefs, librarians recommend:
a. World Bank Country and Region Reports
b. CIA World Factbook
c. EIU Country Report
2. For further country data, librarians recommend:
a. World Economic Outlook Report (IMF)
b. Organization for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD)
c. EIU Data Services: Country Data
3. Additional sources for U.S. demographic data:
a. FedStats provides access to the full range of official statistical information by the Federal Government.
b. Census Bureau National Data Book
c. You may find an incredible amount of data and statistics by exploring various agency publications. Examples include:
i. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
ii. Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)
d. Finally, there are numerous think-tanks and other non-profits that publish working papers on a variety of relevant data and statistics; for example:
i. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Literature Review
In addition to finding information on a company, you will likely also want to perform a literature review on topics associated with your project. It appears that many students look for scholarly and professional articles using Google. Beyond Google, however, there are many great “literature review” databases, including: (1) Academic Search Premier, (2) ABI/ProQuest, and (3) Social Science Research Network (SSRN). (Here is a Tip Sheet for Article Searching.)
News Sources
Finally, news sources are a great place for finding information. News sources include: General Business (e.g., Forbes); Personal Finance (e.g., Money); Consumer (providing information on products and services); Trade (providing, among other things, statistical data on an industry and annual rankings); Scholarly (e.g., Harvard Business Review); and Government (e.g., Federal Reserve Bulletin). (Also, there are likely professional and scholarly blogs associated with various issues and disciplines.)
To perform an aggregated news sources search, librarians recommend LexisNexis, Factiva or Bloomberg. (Here is a Tip Sheet for Article Searching.)
1. In LexisNexis, select the grey News & Business tab. Then, select a database, i.e., Major Newspapers. You will then be prompted to a search box, along with other means for limiting your search, e.g., by date.
2. Factiva may be found by typing “Factiva” into the library catalog: Hollis. Once in this database, you may perform a search similar to that in LexisNexis.
3. Bloomberg is a great source of company and industry news. A Bloomberg terminal is made available to law students by the fourth-floor Reference Desk.
To perform an aggregated news sources search, librarians recommend LexisNexis, Factiva or Bloomberg. (Here is a Tip Sheet for Article Searching.)
1. In LexisNexis, select the grey News & Business tab. Then, select a database, i.e., Major Newspapers. You will then be prompted to a search box, along with other means for limiting your search, e.g., by date.
2. Factiva may be found by typing “Factiva” into the library catalog: Hollis. Once in this database, you may perform a search similar to that in LexisNexis.
3. Bloomberg is a great source of company and industry news. A Bloomberg terminal is made available to law students by the fourth-floor Reference Desk.
Additional Research
1. HBS Research Guides by Company, Subject, Industry and Country
http://www.library.hbs.edu/guides/
2. HLS Business, Corporate Finance & Market Data Resources
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/research/databases/business.html
3. HLS Economic, Monetary, Country & Regional Data Resources
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/research/databases/economic.html
4. HLS Census, Population & Demographic Data Resources
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/research/databases/census.html
http://www.library.hbs.edu/guides/
2. HLS Business, Corporate Finance & Market Data Resources
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/research/databases/business.html
3. HLS Economic, Monetary, Country & Regional Data Resources
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/research/databases/economic.html
4. HLS Census, Population & Demographic Data Resources
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/research/databases/census.html
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