The term industry refers to groups of establishments that produce similar products and services.  Establishment is simply another word for a company or business.  Establishments may range in size from large factories to small businesses employing only a few workers.

Knowing something about the industry in which a firm competes is very helpful in being able to judge a firm's performance.  For example, if you are researching Nike, you will need to gather data on the size of the athletic shoe market, who the key manufacturers are and their respective market shares, and what the trends and projections are for this particular industry.

 When starting an industry research project, keep in mind the fact that equal amounts of information are not available for all industries.  The amount of available information varies widely by industry, depending on the size, age, and rate of technological change within the industry.

Where you begin your research will depend to some extent on what you want to find out.

• Do you have a specific company name and want to know its competitors?
• Are you interested in employment opportunities in a specific industry?
• Do you need to choose an industry to analyze for a class assignment?
• Do you need detailed statistics concerning an industry, such as total dollar value of goods produced for the last several years?
• Are you looking for investment opportunities?

The four segments are:

1. Industry structure

• Good starting place for understanding how American industry is organized
• Start here if you need to choose an industry for a class project and want to determine how much information may be available
• Includes explanations of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system and the newly introduced North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
• Sources here provide background information and will not deal with specific company names

• Resources included here will provide industry overviews and some data on trends and projections
• This section will aid in identifying specific companies operating in a particular industry

• What is currently happening in a particular industry--mergers, problems, new developments
• Trade journals, business periodicals, magazines, and newspaper sources will be introduced

• Refer to this section if you need aggregate or composite data for your industry
• Explains industry ratios and where to find them
• Explains trade associations and their importance
• Introduces statistical sources published by many private as well as governmental sources
• Details how to find U.S. Government statistics