Industry - MBA 501 - Culminating Project in Business and Strategy - Research Guides at California State University Sacramento

Welcome

This guide will help you find resources for doing a company case study. Click the tabs to the left to find additional online resources.

If you need additional help with your research, I'm available for consultations just email, call, or make an appointment with me!

Anne Bradley
bradleya@csus.edu
916-278-4350

Getting started with Industry Overviews

Use these resources to determine the market size, major players, etc. of a particular product or industry.

IBISWorld
Includes 700 Industry Market Research reports, hundreds of Specialized Industries reports, and several dozen California-specific reports. Each report is 20-30 pages and include industry-wide ratios.
Statista
A statistics portal that integrates thousands of diverse topics - consumer goods, finance, politics, and many more areas of interest - and provides exportable data and facts from a wide range of sources.
ABI/INFORM Complete (ProQuest)
Type search in box then scroll down to Document Type and click box next to Market Research. This will limit search to market research reports.

Industry Profiles from Business Source Complete
Covers select consumer, energy, and transportation markets. The industry profiles identify market size and segmentation, competitive landscape and provide forecast data of market performance and trends. Click "Industry" tab to get started.
S&P Capital IQ Industry Surveys
Provides an overview of 52 major industries and includes major competitors.
Available in print at 2 North Reference HG 4921 .S65
SBDC Small Business Snapshots
Very selective coverage, but for the businesses covered information includes industry trends, market statistics, customer demographics, recent business articles, and links to industry trade associations.
O*Net
Offers occupational information and labor market research including information on skills, abilities, knowledges, work activities, and interests associated with occupations. This information can be used to facilitate career exploration, vocational counseling, and a variety of human resources functions.

Industry Financial Ratios

IBISWorld
US Industry Reports (NAICS) and Specialized reports provide downloadable industry-wide ratios in the "Financial Benchmarks" section.

Ratio sourcebooks contain financial and operating ratios, and composite balance sheet and income statements for specific industries, usually arranged by SIC or NAICS numbers. They can be used to provide guidance when putting together the financial section of your business plan. These are all available in print at 2 North Reference.

Dun and Bradstreet Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios Ref HF 5681 .R25 I525
RMA Annual Statement Studies Ref HF 5681 .R25 R6
Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios Ref HF 5681 .R25 T68
Financial Studies of the Small Business Ref. HD 2346 U5 F55a

Industry Codes

Fundamental to conducting industry research is the classification of economic activity. The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system is widely used to classify US economic activity. This system was developed by the Office of Management and Budget and is still used by the SEC as well as in some business information publications.

In 1997, a new system of classification was instituted incorporating Canada, Mexico and the United States and was called the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS, pronounced "nakes" which rhymes with "snakes"). Today NAICS is used by the Census Bureau's Economic Census and in many business publications.

SIC code lookup - Print version available at 2 North Ref HA 40 I6 U63 1987
NAICS code lookup - Print version available at 2 North Ref. HF 1042 N6

Additional Sources for Industry Research

Many additional resources for doing industry research are listed on the following guide:

Industry Research Guide

Last Updated: Jan 23, 2025 2:20 PM