Management Library

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  (johnson.library.cornell.edu)
 
  Contact Info:
  101 Sage Hall
  The Johnson School
  607-255-3389
 
  Email the Management Library 
  (mgtref@cornell.edu)

Market Research

Market research is similar to industry research except instead of focusing on the companies in an industry, it focuses on who the customers are, why they buy what they do, and forecasts.

You might look at market research to determine trends that might affect your sales. For example, if you are manufacturing pharmaceuticals then demographics and rates of disease will affect the forecasted demand for your product.

Industry Research

Industry research looks at all the firms that make a product or service and the environment in which they operate. This includes things like market share, regulations, supplying industries, distribution channels, customers, and trends.

In general, there is more information available for larger and/or more established industries, industries that are trending, and those that have a lot of investor interest.

Top Resources:

  • Industry associations, which advocate on behalf on their members, are good sources of information regarding regulatory issues and trends. Example, PhRMA https://www.phrma.org/
  • Regulatory bodies and NGOs may have high-level statistics. Example, FDA https://www.fda.gov/
  • Trade journals will have recent news and trends in particular industries. May discuss materials prices.
    • Like industry associations, there are many different trade journals out there. Contact us if you would like assistance finding some.
    • Example, Pharmaceutical Executive
  • Industry reports via IBISworldABI/INFORMPassportStatista, and Frost & Sullivan
  • NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) for finding out where the industry is in context with others.
  • ThomasNET a good source for finding manufacturers of particular products.

Top Picks: Industry