International Marketing Research

This pathfinder provides access to online resources in the area of international marketing research. The pathfinder begins with an article providing a great general overview of what international marketing research is and how to conduct it. This will provide the novice with a great starting point. The entries following the article begin with more general sources -- directories, company descriptions, other pathfinders, marketing research associations-- and continue to become more specific -- annual reports, statistics, demographics, etc. Included at the end are a currency converter, useful for converting money when comparing stock markets, and international business simulations, great for using in workshops or for "experiencing" a foreign culture or trade laws. At the end of the pathfinder is a list of suggested search terms, as found in the Library of Congress Subject Headings, that might be useful for those who wish to conduct further research or find online and print resources not included in this pathfinder.

Though this pathfinder was compiled with experienced business people in mind, it should be easily usable to the most novice of searchers in this field. The sources included provide powerful information to satisfy the most experienced business person, but several of them also provide good introductory information that will allow a beginner to become more experienced.

International Marketing Research on the Web

• Article written by David Gikandi for 4HB.com
  
• Great overview of what international marketing research is, the work it requires, and what to look for and where to find it
  
• Provides several great links, some of which are:
  
• CIA World Fact Book -- to start off research, provides cursory analysis of general market variables
  
• Discounted access to Stat-USA (see below)
  
• Global Business Intellibase -- provides a wealth of information including customs and port records and reports on companies in the US

Greenbook

• Worldwide Directory of Marketing Research Companies and Services
  
• Includes marketing research companies and services worldwide
  
• Provides links to several other sites of interest such as the Effie Awards, Marketing Hall of Fame, and Career Information
  
• Features of the directory include:
  
• Search by type of research, research services, audience industries/market specialties, or several other choices
  
• Contact information and company executives for headquarters and branch offices
  
• Website address
  
• Brief description of company products and client

Esomar

• ESOMAR is the World Association of Opinion and Marketing Research Professionals (originally European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research)
  
• More than 4,000 members from 100+ countries covering all industry sectors including advertising, media, universities, business schools, and government authorities
  
• Directory features include:
  
• Listings of single country and multi-country research organization searchable in multiple ways
  
• At-a-glance company information including contact information, names of keypeople, services offered, number of employees, brief history and founding information, names of countries of operation

International Marketing Pathfinder

• Pathfinder created and maintained by librarians at Portland State University (Oregon)
  
• Highlights useful foreign market information sources and offers suggestions for locating others
  
• Provides both online links and suggestions for print resources
  
• Includes descriptions of many of the sources along with tips of how to conduct searches in them
  
• Topics covered in this pathfinder include:
  
• Country background information
  
• Economic and demographic data
  
• Business customs, regulations, and resources
  
• Guides to specific foreign markets
  
• Online databases
  
• Market research firms
  
Several sources restricted to use by University of Chicago students

Quirk's Marketing Research Review

• A one-stop source for information on marketing research, covering multiple aspects, including project case studies, job postings, and directories of custom research providers
  
• More than 40,000 research reports from more than 350 publishers are available for access and purchase
• Subscriptions available for print versions of the online magazine
  
• Provides a large database of market research content in partnership with MarketResearch.com
  
• Other great features include:
  
  • Glossary of more than 650 common and uncommon marketing research words and phrases
    
  • Directories for focus group facilities, mystery shopping, telephone facilities, and more
    
  • Job postings
    
  • Lists of additional resources, publications, books, etc.
    
  • Listings of national associations and international marketing research associations
    
  • Archive of more than 500 full-text articles from past issues of the online magazine
    

Marketing Resources on the Internet

• Searchable links to dozens of marketing tips from how to add your site to a list to how to get demographic information
  
• Hundreds of links to marketing research sites such as:
  
• Associations
  
• Seminars and Conferences
  
• Online discussions
  
• Journals
  
• Targeting
  
• Trademarks and Copyrights
  
This is not the prettiest site -- it's just lots of links in small text, not always lined up properly -- but there is an incredible amount of information accessible through this site

WorldSkip

• Provides news, information, products, and services from more than 220 countries
  
• Quick links to global headlines
  
• Choose a country or continent to select particular news items in that area:
  
• News, information, and radio
  
• Business, economy, and government
  
• Travel, people, and culture
  
• Regional economy
  
• History, literature, and education
  
Some information may only be in the language of the country

Guide to Online International Marketing Information

• Online resources for international marketing information compiled by the University of Chicago library
  
• Several sources restricted to use by University of Chicago students
  
• Sites available to general public include:
  
• InfoNation -- most recent statistics for Member States of the United Nations
  
• Global Market Information Database -- marketing and economic data from Euromonitor -- country data, consumer lifestyles, consumer market sizes, forecasts, and more
  
• Links to websites of foreign government and international government organizations such as UN and World Bank
  
• Listing of a variety of international marketing journals and publications

IMRI -- International Market Research Information

• Provides a variety of international market research information at their site, through links to marketing research agency sites, and in DataStar -- a Dialog service
  One-time registration fee is required to access Dialog information
  
• International Directory of Market Research Agencies contains contact details and links to websites for more than 6,000 agencies in more than 100 countries
  
• Assists in searching for an agency with specialist expertise or market knowledge
  Free service
  
• Other features of interest:
  
• Listing of source journals for the Market Research Society's Abstracts on IMRI
  
• Links to worldwide market research associations, sorted alphabetically by country
  
• Access to additional useful online market research sites

Stat-USA/Internet

• One-stop internet browsing for business, trade, and economic information. A service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, providing authoritative information from the federal government.


• Provides access to:
• State of the Nation -- current and historical economic information
  Access to files for subscribers only
• Globus & NDTB -- current and historical trade releases and opportunities, research, country analysis, and the National Trade Database
  Access to files for subscribers only
• The Newstand -- non-subscriber access to documents
  Purchase of documents required
• Many of the document links were viewable when Notepad was chosen as the viewer

KnowThis.com

• Homepage -- KnowThis.com -- is a marketing virtual library, providing information and/or links for all aspects of marketing
  
• Provides quick and easy access to sites of particular interest to international marketing research, including:
  
• CorporateInformation -- basically a directory of directories for finding company and industry information, but strength is links to international company and industry information
  
• Everything International -- information and links to country and regional statistics, international product classification, professional associations and more
  
• Strategis -- facts and statistics oriented pages, market research page, links to many country pages
  
• World Chambers Network -- consortium of more than 4,600 international chambers of commerce, includes searchable directory of members, trade resources and other services

MSU-CIBER

• Site provided by the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at Michigan State University
  
• Powerful directory of links to a wide variety of worldwide information:
  
• World stock exchanges
  
• Regional/country specific information sorted by continent
  
• Access to a variety of journals and publications published in countries around the world
  
• Global and country specific information about trade laws
  
• Announcements of upcoming seminars, trade shows, and conferences

Report Gallery

• Access to more than 2,200 annual reports from around the world and covering most of the Fortune 500 companies
  
• Some reports available for viewing online at the site, others available for free by mail
  
• Partners with GCIS (providing annual reports from Japan) and CAROL (providing annual reports from the UK) and other international partners
  
• Library of Annual Reports provides several added benefits beyond listing the included companies:
  
• Stock Tracker provides popular media sources, and proven fundamental strategies about the company stocks
  
• Snap Shot provides at a glance information about what the company does, earning estimates, and analyst ratings
  
• Links to the online annual report
  
• Ticker symbol
  
• Current (20-minute delay) activity and standing on the appropriate exchange (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, etc.

International Business Simulations

• Michigan State University page of links to simulated business situations Great for team/leadership building or for "experiencing" international business situations.


• Some examples of simulations provided are:
  
  • Country Manager
    
  • Corporation: A Global Business Simulation
    
  • MarketPlace Simulation -- International Integrated Business Management
    
  There do not appear to be any restrictions for accessing any of the simulations.

Currency Converter

• Multi-lingual currency converter with up-to-date exchange rates provided by leading market data contributors


• Features include
  
• 164 currencies from which to choose
  
• Select date, language, and amount to convert
  
• Convert to variable interbank rates, typical credit card rates, or typical cash rates


• Buy currency and travelers checks
  
• Add a currency converter to your webpage
  
• Play the Currency Trading Game
  
• Open a currency trading account

Suggested Search Terms

When conducting further online searches, the following terms might be useful. In addition, try adding the names of specific countries/states or company names after the search terms. Another useful trick is to try both the singular and plural forms of the terms, sometimes they will provide totally different results. Also try using the term "international" with any of these phrases to broaden the search.