BUSN - ENTI 317
What is Competitive Analysis
Competitive analysis is an in-depth analysis of the main competitors in your marketplace, as well as their strengths, weakness, objectives and strategies. This analysis will help you determine strategies to improve your company's competitive advantage.
How to conduct and prepare a competitive analysis By: Edward Lowe Foundation. This in-depth article describes what a competitive analysis is, and how to conduct one. It includes a checklist, as well as a list of additional resources.
Competitive analysis
These resources will help you identify companies involved in specific industry sectors or products. The pdf files are brief tutorials to help with these databases.
- Reference Solutions This link opens in a new windowFormerly known as: Canadian Business Directory, search an extensive database of over 1,000,000 Canadian companies, both public and private. Search criteria includes, geography, industry, number of employees, and more.
- S & P Capital IQAvailable only at Business Library on Stations 13, 14 and the Reference desk. The web and Excel-based platform provides easy access to both real-time and historical information on companies, markets, transactions, and people worldwide.
- Financial Performance Data (Small Business Profiles)(Open Access) Financial Performance Data offers industry-specific income statement and balance sheet data for small and medium sized businesses. This tool allows you to: Estimate the operating costs for new business; View financial performance industry averages; Enter your own financial data to see how your business measures up to comparably sized firms.
- Statistics CanadaSee the following Statistics Canada tables for benchmark financial data and ratios by industry:
1. Table 187-0001: Quarterly balance sheet and income statement, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), quarterly (Dollars) at the Canadian level
2. Table 180-0003: Financial and taxation statistics for enterprises, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), annually (Dollars) at the Canadian level
3. Table 187-0002: Quarterly statement of changes in financial position, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), selected financial ratios and selected seasonally adjusted components, quarterly (Dollars) at the Canadian level.
- Gartner This link opens in a new window
These resources will help you learn more about the industry sector you are considering. The pdf files are brief tutorials that will help you use these databases.
- Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
In addition to being an excellent source for articles, reports and company profiles, Business Source Complete provides industry reports published by Marketline, Business Monitor International, Barnes and other sources.
- NetAdvantage This link opens in a new windowThis site includes a variety of S&P products. Information includes excellent industry surveys with a North American focus.
- Passport This link opens in a new window
- ProQuest One Business (formerly ABI / Business Premium Collection) This link opens in a new windowIn addition to articles in scholarly, trade and popular publications, ABI Inform also provides other forms of business information including industry reports. After entering your search terms, use the “Document type” limiter to select “industry reports”.
These resources are excellent sources for current news articles.
- Factiva This link opens in a new window
- Canadian business & current affairs database This link opens in a new window
- Canadian Newsstream This link opens in a new window
- Gartner This link opens in a new window