Company Information
Background, History & Executives
Starting your company research with background and history can be useful for providing a foundational understanding of the company, its history, and its relevance in the market, and it can make your research process more efficient by helping you narrow your research scope up front, as well as allow you to identify relevant areas for further research and make informed decisions about your research direction.
This portion of your company research may include the following components. Check your guidelines and rubrics or ask your instructor for specific components needed for your particular research assignment.
- Company history - when and where the company was established, major milestones
- Key players - founders, executives, and other individuals critical to the company
- Industry overview - what industry or industries the company operates in, major competitors, market trends
- Products and services - the company's primary offerings and target market
- Recent news and developments - significant events like acquisitions, mergers, partnerships
- Company culture and values - information about the company's mission, vision and employee values
The library databases listed below can support you in this research. Remember to check out the company's website, too!
Recommended Databases
Company Profiles
For company profiles that can include company histories, timelines with major milestones, industry identification, and key executives:
- Business Insights: Global - Gale This link opens in a new windowFor business professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and general researchers, Gale Business Insights: Global delivers comprehensive international business intelligence, compiled into a logical, usable context. This database includes case studies. Watch this video overview of Business Insights: Global.
- MarketLine (Explorer) This link opens in a new windowQuality business reports including company profiles, market reports, industry outlooks and country economic and demographic conditions. To access data click "Explorer" under Cross Industry Intelligence Center.
- D&B Hoovers This link opens in a new windowD&B Hoovers — which combines the best of the former Hoovers solution, insights-rich Dun & Bradstreet data, and the robust Avention OneSource platform — offers deeper insights on your most important industries, accounts, and contacts. It offers one-of-a-kind functionality to help you quickly analyze and understand companies at a level that was previously unheard of. SNHU’s subscription includes CRUSH and One Stop Reports. FAQ: Where can I find income statements and balance sheets? Please log out of D&B Hoovers when you are finished using the database. Note: Some users are reporting errors, such as requests for a password pop up when attempting to access from off-campus.
Please try clearing your browser's cookies/cache. Please also try a different browser. - Mergent Market Atlas This link opens in a new windowMergent Market Atlas offers a wealth of detail on company financials, ratios, business segments, descriptions, sustainability, officers and directors. The powerful and intuitive search capabilities provide quick access to a multitude of company, industry, index, ESG and economic data views and reports. Mergent Market Atlas delivers the same comprehensive suite of financial information used by many professionals.
- Reference Solutions - Data Axle This link opens in a new windowDatabase of over 10.5 million public and private businesses.
Articles, Reports, and More
For articles from journals, trade publications, and newspapers that can potentially yield information on recent news and developments, products and services, and company culture and values:
- ABI/INFORM Collection - ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Major source for academic journals, trade publications, market and industry research reports, company annual reports, dissertations, and working papers. Also contains country profiles and economic forecasts for most major economies.
- Business Source Ultimate - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowBusiness Source Ultimate includes news articles, peer-reviewed articles, case studies, country economic reports. It also includes company profiles, SWOT analyses, and interviews with executives and analysts.
- Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition - ProQuest This link opens in a new windowSearchable database of articles from the world's leading financial newspaper
- News & Newspapers - ProQuest This link opens in a new windowFull text of U.S. and international news sources. Includes coverage The New York Times and the Times of London, plus hundreds of other news sources and news wires
- Newspaper Source - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowSelected full-text for regional, national and international newspapers and television & radio news transcripts
- NewsBank: Access World News This link opens in a new windowNewsBank consolidates current and archived information from thousands of newspaper titles, as well as newswires, web editions, blogs, videos, broadcast transcripts, business journals, periodicals, government documents and other publications. Shapiro Library also subscribes to the current year of the Union Leader in color which includes ads