CAGE

The databases listed here provide insights and data relevant to multiple if not all four of the dimensions (cultural, administrative, geographic and economic) needed to analyze the potential for firm/industry expansion opportunities.

Likewise, searching and browsing news and academic research for each dimension will be beneficial.

The other sections of this guide, list specific databases, reports, books and sites relevant to each dimension and to company & industry reports.

 

  Economist Intelligence Unit
Features a single unified platform delivering country and regional reports and comparable data for over 200 countries. Politics, economics, the business environment and sector and industries are explained and forecasts presented. The data tab delivers time series on national accounts, monetary, demographic, trade, employment, debt & spending indicators to name a few.

  Global Edge
Global business knowledge site providing access to authoritative data from Michigan State University.

  A to Z International Business
Offers country guides for doing business, reference materials relevant to importing, exporting and global business, and primers for understanding a range of topics related to international business.

  Country Commercial Guides.
Country Commercial Guides (CCG's) are prepared annually by U.S. embassies with the assistance of several U.S. government agencies. These reports present a comprehensive look at countries' commercial environments, using economic, political and market analysis. The CCG's were established by recommendation of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), a multi-agency task force, to consolidate various reporting documents prepared for the U.S. business community." Site contains data published prior to 2001. For data published after 2001, please visit the US State Department

  Euromonitor (Passport)

  Index Mundi Country Comparison
Presents side by side comparison data derived from the CIA World Factbook

  OECD iLibrary
Provides full text access to the books, periodicals, working papers, and statistical publications produced by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since 1998. Also contains several statistical databases including Main Economic Indicators, International Trade by Commodity Statistics, and compendia of agriculture, education, environment, and social statistics.

  World Bank
Of particular interest are the tabs for "countries" and for "data and research".

news

  Latin America Advisor
This daily new services offers summaries of political and economic developments of interest to firms operating in Latin America.

  Access World News (NewsBank)  Tutorial
Provides full text access to national and international newspaper articles and radio and television news transcripts. Many newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, offer full-image “page view” format. Includes user-friendly subject browse feature, as well as full text searchability. Coverage varies.

  Factiva (Dow Jones)
Provides access to international, national and local news sources. Many different news media such as newspapers, magazines, wires, blogs and transcripts are aggregated in English and foreign languages. The content is current and archival. Industry, company and market profiles are also provided.

  Nexis Uni  Limitations on Use
Formerly known as LexisNexis Academic. Provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles and news transcripts, business, company, and industry information in the U.S. and abroad, and legal documents, including U.S. Federal and State court cases, and law reviews. Coverage varies.

  Financial Times  Limitations on Use  Access Instructions
Provides full access to the web edition which features the same content found in the print edition plus additional multimedia features, company tear sheets, interactive charting, a dictionary of financial terms, and recruitment tools. Digital access to the print edition is available via ABI/Inform and Nexis Uni.
Subscription courtesy of Villanova School of Business.

  Online Newspaper Archives Index (Wikipedia)
Identifies and links to selected online newspaper archives worldwide.

scholarship

  ABI/INFORM Collection (ProQuest)
Provides access to scholarly journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals, and country- and industry-focused reports.

  Business Source Premier (EBSCO)
Provides access to a wide range of academic business journals and trade magazines. Topics include management, marketing, finance, economics, and management information systems. Full text access may be embargoed for up to three years. Coverage goes back to 1965.

  Falvey Book Search

  Google Scholar
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Scholar search tips

  Scopus (Elsevier)
Provides citations and abstracts to peer-reviewed journals, books, and conference proceedings in all major disciplines. Provides information on citing and cited references for each article.

cultural

 

  Latinobarometro
Conducts annual public opinion surveys in 18 Latin American countries to monitor the development of democracies, economies and societies, using indicators of attitude, opinion and behavior.

  Gallup Analytics and Brain  Tutorial
Provides access to nearly a century of U.S. public opinion data in the Gallup Brain along with current recurring questions in U.S. Dailies poll for national, state, select city and individual MSA levels and the Gallup World Poll with global tracking data, social series and key indicators polling data. (World Poll questions may vary by year and country conditions.)

  Statista Global Consumer Survey Guide
Offers step by step instructions for querying the Global Consumer Survey.

Administrative/Political

 

Geography/Transporation/Communication

  eMarketer
Offers data and reports related to digital marketing. Topics include advertising spending, digital marketing, social media, media usage, e-commerce, email marketing, and device usage. Coverage is global.

economic 

I've listed economic reports found in Business Source Premier and ABI Inform.  Economist Intelligence Unit, Euromonitor, EMIS and Global Edge also offer copius economic information.

Company & Industry

 

  EMIS Intelligence (Emerging Markets Information Service)
Delivers company and industry information together with relevant news, research, and analytics for developing markets.

  Mergent Online  Limitations on Use
Provides detailed financial statements for U.S. and international public and private companies, including SEC filings and current and historical annual reports for U.S. and international public companies. Data can be downloaded in a variety of formats. Also includes country profiles.

  D&B Hoovers
Offers public and private company and industry information including company profiles, market research reports from Marketline, Freedonia, Euromonitor, and RMA updated with recent news, executive profiles, and analyst reports.

  NetAdvantage (Standard & Poor's Capital IQ)
Offers market information, company quotes, equity index information, industry information (including the S&P Industry Surveys), and economic data.

  Statista
Provides a portal to statistics and studies gathered by market researchers, trade organizations, scientific publications, and government sources. Topics covered include industries, media, companies, product categories, and countries.