Entrepreneurship: Home
Purpose of Research Guide
This guide curates research and information sources for business. Use the side menu to navigate to relevant sources.
Want guidance?
- Email a business research consultant/librarian:
Nancy Lovas, Davis Library: nancy64@email.unc.edu
Kenan Flagler Research Librarian: Researchtools@kenan-flagler.unc.edu - Schedule a consultation appointment with a business librarian.
Industry Reports
- IBISWorld Industry ReportsCovers the entire U.S. economy, providing in-depth and concise business intelligence and industry analysis. Global and China industry reports provide market information for many industries and business sectors.
- Mintel AcademicContains market research data and reports on consumer markets and products, demographics, consumer buying behavior and motivations, trends in global consumer markets. Many reports include Databooks with downloadable consumer survey data. U.S.-focused with some global coverage.
- BizMinerProvides financial benchmarking and national, state, and regional industry statistics by up to 10-digit NAICS.
- BCC ResearchIndustry and market research reports on major economic, scientific, and technological developments in industrial, pharmaceutical, and high technology organizations
- GlobalData IntelligenceReports provide analysis, forecasts, news, and data for consumer industries such as suppliers, manufacturers and distribution channels, consumer insights and trends, company market share, pricing, and more. Search the Product Launch Analytics database by brand and product name, manufacturer, product category, health claim, flavor, ingredient and more.
Note: From login screen, select “IP Access” to access database. Then select “Consumer” in the “Access Your Subscriptions” menu. - Euromonitor PassportProvides detailed data and reports for international and consumer industries, including historic data from 1997 and market forecasts. Reports include market size, company and brand profiles and market share. Consumer information includes population trends, lifestyles, buying behavior. Export data into Excel. Great for international business.
Note: You will be asked to login. UNC affiliates only – no walk in access allowed. - ABI/INFORM CollectionProvides international industry reports from Fitch, Plunkett, First/D&B, and GlobalData. Add pub(publication name) to your search to limit results to a specific report publisher. E.g. pub(Fitch) to limit results to Fitch reports.
Industry Ratios (Financial & Performance)
- IBISWorld Industry ReportsProvides ratios and other data in the "Competitive Landscape" and "Key Statistics" chapters of each industry report.
- BizMinerProvides corporate financial benchmarks and regional industry statistics.
Market Data & Mapping (demographics, spending, and/or psychographics)
- SimplyAnalyticsCreate maps, tables, and rankings from over 30,000 demographic, consumer spending, and psychographic variables. Covers the U.S. from states to neighborhood levels. Create your own optional account to save your searches and favorite variables and locations.
- StatistaProvides statistics and survey results targeting business customers, faculty, and researchers. Includes statistics on economies, markets, and industries. Contains over one million statistics on more than 80,000 topics, covering 170 industries.
- Census Narrative Profiles (current demographics)Covers social, economic, housing and demographic data. Use "Place" for cities. From the American Community Survey.
- Census: demographic subject linksProvides subject links to demographic tables from the American Community Survey. Use "Customize Table" to specify your geographies.
- NC Dept of Commerce: area profiles and mapping (tapestries)Provides demographic and market profiles of locations with North Carolina.
- Esri Business Analyst OnlineAccess demographic, business, and consumer data for market analysis, including consumer lifestyle and buying behavior.
Note: To use Business Analyst Online, you will need to create an Organizational ArcGIS Online Account. To create an account:
1. "Sign in"
2. "Your ArcGIS organization's URL" (under ArcGIS login): unc.maps.arcgis.com
3. Click "Continue" then "UNC Chapel Hill SSO"
4. Sign in with your Onyen
For help creating an account or accessing Business Analyst, please contact one of our librarians. - PolicyMapCreate maps and tables from U.S. demographic and economic data. Does not include psychographics.
- Euromonitor PassportProvides reports and marketing data on countries, companies, markets, consumers, and cities from over 200 countries. Offers a single gateway to business intelligence on industries, countries and consumers. Focuses on consumer-oriented industries.
- GlobalData IntelligenceReports provide analysis, forecasts, news, and data for consumer industries such as suppliers, manufacturers and distribution channels, consumer insights and trends, company market share, pricing, and more. Search the Product Launch Analytics database by brand and product name, manufacturer, product category, health claim, flavor, ingredient and more.
Note: From login screen, select “IP Access” to access database. Then select “Consumer” in the “Access Your Subscriptions” menu. - Sage DataProvides statistics on international markets of all sorts. For help, see the user guide.
- Simmons InsightsData on adult U.S. consumers includes attitudes and behaviors, media use, and buying habits. Demographic and psychographic data.
- Data Axle Reference SolutionsUse Consumers/Lifestyles data set for market research and customer discovery.
Market Research Reports
- Mintel AcademicContains market research data and reports on consumer markets and products, demographics, consumer buying behavior and motivations, trends in global consumer markets. Many reports include Databooks with downloadable consumer survey data. U.S.-focused with some global coverage.
- Euromonitor PassportProvides detailed data and reports for international and consumer industries, including historic data from 1997 and market forecasts. Reports include market size, company and brand profiles and market share. Consumer information includes population trends, lifestyles, buying behavior. Export data into Excel. Great for international business.
Note: You will be asked to login. UNC affiliates only – no walk in access allowed. - IBISWorld Industry ReportsEach IBIS industry report includes a detailed chapter on "Products & Markets".
- StatistaContains statistics, infographics, industry and market research reports and publicly-available data for over 25 countries on all topics. Download statistics and charts in Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF.
Note: UNC Chapel Hill currently has full access to Statista with the exception of the Global Consumer Survey and Market Studies. - BCC ResearchIndustry and market research reports on major economic, scientific, and technological developments in industrial, pharmaceutical, and high technology organizations
Private Companies
- OrbisCovers millions of publicly traded and privately held companies from around the world. Company records include directory facts, financial and ownership details, subsidiaries, names and titles for executives and directors, M&A deals, etc. Privately held companies do not have financial information.
Note: This resource does not currently work with Chrome browser
Note: Disable pop-up blockers to use this resource. - CB InsightsProvides information and independent analysis of private companies in a wide range of industries. A special focus on the financing, and mergers and acquisitions of these companies through private investors and venture capital and private equity firms.
Note:Users must register an account with a UNC email address. Contact Kenan Flagler Library Research Services at Researchtools@kenan-flagler.unc.edu with questions.
- Data Axle Reference SolutionsContains directory information for millions of U.S. and Canadian businesses and consumers (white pages). Use Consumers/Lifestyles data for market research and customer discovery. Search by company name, geographic area, industry codes (NAICS/SIC), sales volume, etc. Create custom lists of up to 250 records that you can download to Excel.
Note: Users are not permitted access from IP addresses outside of the United States. Download limit is 250 records. - IBISWorld Industry ReportsThe US Company Benchmarking Profiles analyze thousands of public and private companies. Profiles consist of a company overview and breakdown of performance within industries of operation. Includes company financials, an industry market share breakdown, an industry competitor matrix, SWOT analysis, Products and Services, and Key Company Benchmarks.
Access by clicking "Company Research" in top navigation menu.
- Hoover's Company Records (in Business Market Research Collection)Provides profiles of 19,000 large private companies from around the world.
- Nexis UniCovers international companies through its Company Dossier.
- Roster of Secretaries of State/Lieutenant GovernorsAll 50 states make some level of corporate and business filings available online. In a few instances only limited information (such as name availability) is retrievable. The majority of the states, however, use their Web presence to disseminate a range of public business records -- and most of them offer access at no charge. This roster is from the National Association of Secretaries of State and includes the 50 states, DC and U.S. territories.
Public Companies
- OrbisCovers millions of publicly traded and privately held companies from around the world. Company records include directory facts, financial and ownership details, subsidiaries, names and titles for executives and directors, M&A deals, etc. Privately held companies do not have financial information.
Note: This resource does not currently work with Chrome browser.
Note: Disable pop-up blockers to use this resource.
- Data Axle Reference SolutionsContains directory information for millions of U.S. and Canadian businesses and consumers (white pages). Use Consumers/Lifestyles data for market research and customer discovery. Search by company name, geographic area, industry codes (NAICS/SIC), sales volume, etc. Create custom lists of up to 250 records that you can download to Excel.
Note: Users are not permitted access from IP addresses outside of the United States. Download limit is 250 records. - OsirisContains information on over 110,000 publicly traded companies, banks, and insurance companies from around the world, including financial statement data. Provides ownership, subsidiaries, earnings estimates, stock data. Report formats reflect accounting procedures in the major world regions.
Note: This resource does not currently work with Chrome browser.
Note: Disable pop-up blockers to use this resource.
- IBISWorld Industry ReportsThe US Company Benchmarking Profiles analyze thousands of public and private companies. Profiles consist of a company overview and breakdown of performance within industries of operation. Includes company financials, an industry market share breakdown, an industry competitor matrix, SWOT analysis, Products and Services, and Key Company Benchmarks.
Access by clicking "Company Research" in top navigation menu.
- CB InsightsProvides information and independent analysis of private companies in a wide range of industries. A special focus on the financing, and mergers and acquisitions of these companies through private investors and venture capital and private equity firms.
Note:Users must register an account with a UNC email address. Contact Kenan Flagler Library Research Services at Researchtools@kenan-flagler.unc.edu with questions.
- Capital IQ (Kenan-Flagler ONLY)Capital IQ allows users to search for and screen for information on companies including in-depth financial information on publicly traded companies, information on investment firms, biographical information on corporate professionals, and transactions in both the public and private capital markets by a very wide range of company identification data, financial statement data, executive’s biographical characteristics, and deal or transaction specifics. (Source Vendor Web site)
Information can be exported to Excel.
SPECIAL NOTE: Because of licensing restrictions: Access to Capital IQ is restricted to current faculty, staff, and students of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. - EuropagesFind information on some 3 million companies in 35 European countries. Search by company name, industry, country, or region of country. Each entry includes addresses, phone numbers, maybe an email contact, maybe a map of the location. You must select one of 26 languages before searching.
- SEDAROfficial site that provides access to most public securities documents and information filed by Canadian public companies and investment funds with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in the SEDAR filing system. SEDAR is a rough equivalent to the SEC’s EDGAR files but it is for Canadian companies.
Government Regulation and Licensing
- NC Business Licenses & Permits: NC Department of CommercePortal for North Carolina entrepreneurs and small businesses
- NC Tax Information & Employer RequirementsFrom the North Carolina Department of Commerce
- SBA: Stay Legally CompliantFrom the Small Business Association
- elaws: Employment Laws Assistance for Workers & Small Business (Dept. of Labor)"Simulates the interaction you might have with an employment law expert." Also includes an Employment Law Guide.
- Resources for Small Businesses (EPA)Covers environmental regulations.
Financials
- BizMinerFind industry financial ratios, failure rates of businesses, local industry market research statistics, competitive market analysis, and more by US location (state, city, county, zip, or custom location). A great resource when developing business plans, or for any sort of entrepreneurship initiatives where you need to measure peer performance in an industry.
- Census Business & Industry DataA portal for all Census research on economic aspects, most based on NAICS codes.Includes the Economic Census, County Business Patterns, Retail Trade, the Annual Survey of Manufactures, and other reports.
Article Databases for Entrepreneurship
- Business Source PremierCovers scholarly articles for all business subjects: marketing, management, economics, finance, accounting, international business, and more. Also includes financial data, MarketLine company profiles, Harvard Business Review articles, SWOT analyses, and more.
- ABI/INFORM CollectionArticles from academic journals, trade publications, market and industry research reports, general business magazines. Topics covered include leadership, management, economics, banking, finance, accounting, international business and economics.
- ProQuest Entrepreneurship DatabaseIncludes business plan templates, market research reports, company profiles, business journals and news
- Entrepreneurship Research and Policy NetworkOne of a number of specialized research networks within the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). It features abstracts and full-text published and working papers covering the intersection of entrepreneurship with other subject areas such as economics, finance, law and the social sciences. It also hosts job listings and calls for papers.
- ProQuest Business Market Research CollectionContains company records and analysis of major global and regional economic and political developments.
Sample Business Plans
- BplansProvides over 500 plans, from a software company than sells business plan software.
- ProQuest Entrepreneurship DatabaseInclude the phrase "Business Plan" in your search, for example: coffee and business plan.
- SBA: Write Your Business PlanBusiness plan templates from Small Business Administration
Tutorials & Guides for Entrepreneurship
- Market Research BasicsOnline tutorial for an overview of research strategies and information sources for market research.
- Market Research as StorytellingA framework to understand how market research is like telling a story
Campus Resources for Entrepreneurs
- Small Business Technology & Development Center at UNCGet free and low-cost business counseling. Explore online resources and trainings.
- Innovate CarolinaCampus hub for entrepreneurship and innovation. Offers technology commercialization support and services for startups.
Business Research Consultant/Librarian
Nancy Lovas
Contact:
Davis Library
Subjects: Accounting, Banking, Business, Company Information, Country Economics, Country Information, Economic Data/Statistics, Economics, Economics Literature, Entrepreneur/Small Business Information, Global Business, Industry Information, Investment Information, Marketing, Patents, POLI: Political Science, Political Science