LibGuides: MGT-301: Managing Organizations: Company Strategy

Key Databases

Use these library databases first to get started on your company research.

ABI-Inform
The premier business periodical database. Use it to find articles on your company from BusinessWeek, Forbes, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, etc.
Business & Management Practices
Delivers real-world know-how about business planning, decision making and management issues, allowing searches by a specific department or function within an organization to present highly relevant results every time.
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By appointment only.
Business and Industry
Has a strong global focus on company, product and industry information. Provides valuable facts, figures and trends.
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By appointment only.

Marketline Company Profiles (formerly Datamonitor) This link opens in a new window
Link takes you to a search. Add the name of the company (or other keywords) to the search to see the reports and profiles. Formerly listed as Datamonitor Company Reports. Over 4400 company and Industry reports covering the U.S. and foreign countries.These reports provide a wealth of information, including a company overview, history, products & services analysis, SWOT analysis, current news, etc. These reports are available via EBSCO's Business Source Premier database.
EDGAR This link opens in a new window
The Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR)provides full text for most SEC filings including the 10K, 10Q, and Proxy Statements and other corporate financial data.
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Covers approximately 15,000 NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ companies and their EDGAR filings, dating back to 1993. Also offers presentation-quality, summary company reports. Over 1,500 NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX companies are updated quarterly with critical investment information.

The Firm's Strategy

Basic Definitions

For some discussion/definitions on the types of corporate strategy, including definitions of focused and unfocused, etc., see this article from the Encyclopedia of Management: "Strategy Levels." See especially #3 under Growth Strategies, where it defines diversification and related/unrelated, AND see the section “PORTER'S GENERIC STRATEGIES” where it discusses Differentiation and the focus strategy.
Also see other articles in the Encyclopedia of Management on Competitive Advantage, Competitive Analysis and Strategic Planning Tools.

Researching the Firm's Strategy

You can use the Datamonitor Report, the ReferenceUSA company database and Hoover's to identify diversification and focus-ness.
Also search in ABI-Inform for articles. For example, here are over 100 articles discussing various aspects of Google's strategy in the marketplace. Notice the search is on "CO(google) AND SU(strategy)."
Utilize the First Research Industry Profiles.
If your company is in the technology arena, such as the computing or wireless industry, please be sure to check out the Faulkner Information Services database. See the company Profile link on the right side of the page.
U.S. Public Companies usually succinctly state their Business Strategy in "Item 1. Business" of their Form 10-K, which is the annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 10-Ks are found at Lexis Nexis, Mergent, EDGAR, Yahoo! Finance and other places. The Business overview in the 10-K provides a detailed discussion of the company's strategy, products and services, operations, marketing, distribution, international business, suppliers and government regulation as well as competitive conditions in the industry.
Search the Business & Industry Database. See sample search results for Google and Corporate Strategy
Datamonitor Case Studies. If there is a case study for your company, it will provide a concise evaluation of how your company stands out in some area of its strategic operations, highlighting the ways in which the company has become one of the best in its field or how it deals with different problems encountered in that sector.
The reference book series "Company Profiles for Students" has a section on Strategy. Though these reports are 5-8 years old, they can still offer some insight on your company's strategy. See the example for Microsoft. These books are located in the Reference Collection on the first floor. Ask at the Reference Desk for assistance.
Find historical annual reports in Lexis-Nexis Academic. This could give insight on your company's overall strategy. Many current annual reports are available at the Annual Report Gallery.