Research and Course Guides: Marketing Resources: Competitors

Identifying Competitors

Business resources identify industry competitors in different ways:

These resources can help you find companies within an industry.

IBISWorld Industry Market Research This link opens in a new window
Industry analysis and data for United States, Canada, China, and global industries.
IBISWorld user guide
D&B Hoovers This link opens in a new window
Contains comprehensive company information from international public companies, detailed industry reports, analyst reports, SEC filings, and market research.
Subscription does not include access to Business Contact credits (direct dial and email addresses).
S&P Global NetAdvantage This link opens in a new window
Covers 50+ major U.S. industries; each industry survey has a comparative company analysis within the industry.
Reference Solutions from Data Axle This link opens in a new window
Use the Business Type section of the Custom Search to get a list of companies in a particular industry.
Passport This link opens in a new window
Industry and country reports identify "company shares" of the market. Restricted to UST students, faculty, and staff. Even on campus you must log in with your UST username/password.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
This is a comprehensive database that contains abstracts and the full text of thousands of business and news publications as well as country and industry reports, company profiles, SWOTs, and market research reports.

Yahoo Finance
Search Yahoo Finance for a company and get a list of major competitors.

NAICS: North American Industry Classification System
Replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997; it's a 5- or 6-digit number. You can search by keyword, and there are tables to convert from NAICS to SIC, and SIC to NAICS. The NAICS was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to compare statistics about business activity across North America.
SIC: Standard Industrial Classification
The U.S. government classified business activity according to the SIC system until the adoption of NAICS in 1997. It's searchable by code or by keyword. Some business sources still feature SIC code search options.
North American Product Classification System (NAPCS)
3-5 digit classification system for products produced by service industries in 12 NAICS sectors in the 48-49 through 81 divisions. Is a complement to NAICS and organizes products primarily by their use. Implementation started in 2007.