Library Research Guides: BUS X272 Guide for Global Business Classes: Context for Business

The PESTLE Framework

A PESTLE analysis is a common way of breaking down the contextual factors that affect businesses in a particular country and is used by companies as a basis for strategic decision making and marketing, among other things. While business decisions are often financially motivated, the six factors considered in a PESTLE (political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal and environmental) consider the broader context in which the organization is operating, rather than focusing exclusively on the monetary.

Even if you are not interested in a PESTLE analysis, per se, the six areas still provide a useful framework for searching for information about a country; no matter what information you are trying to find about a country, it is likely to fall into one of these six categories. Different databases specialize in different kinds of data and analysis, so ask yourself which category the information you're looking for falls into and then search for databases below that fall under the corresponding letter.

POLITICAL	ECONOMIC	SOCIAL/CULTURAL

Examples include: Government policy Governmental stability Trade regulations/restrictions Foreign policy Corruption	Examples include: Economic growth Interest rates Inflation Employment rates Monetary policy Consumer confidence	Examples include: Age distribution Population growth Equity and diversity Cultural views and customs
TECHNOLOGICAL	LEGAL	ENVIRONMENTAL

Examples include: Technology infrastructure Innovation Uptake/adoption R&D activity Technology incentives	Examples include: Industry regulations Health & safety regulations Labor laws Intellectual property law Antitrust law	Examples include: Weather Climate change Environmental policy Pollution Sustainability initiatives

Databases Grouped by PESTLE Category Covered

P E S T L E

MarketLine Advantage
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⦿ Country-specific Macroeconomic Outlook and In-depth PESTLE Insights Reports.
Choose Country Profiles from the dropdown next to the search box and then enter your country of interest in the search box.
MarketLine offers a collection of company, industry, financial, product and country information, research and data extending over all major marketplaces and industries. A searchable online business information service using published desk research and secondary data sources to create three different types of profiles. Company profiles include company overviews, business descriptions, company history, executive listings, product listings, locations, news, and commentary. Industry profiles contain: 5-year historical and 5-year forecast market values and/or volumes; market segmentations; company and/or product market shares; explanatory text identifying major trends and significant growth points; and analysis of each market's competitive landscape, including main players, distribution channels, and regulatory issues. Each country profile includes a description of the country's economic performance and GDP, an assessment of its potential for development, and detailed market and industry analysis of the country's business environment. Profiles are supplemented by a "news & comment" section.
Business Source Complete
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⦿ Country Risk Reports/Political Risk Reports
Search [Your Country Name] country report and sort by date to find the most recent reports. e.g. Switzerland country report.
Provides access to peer-reviewed business journals, covering all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, banking, finance, and more. Indexing and abstracts and full text are available back as far as 1886.
Nexis Uni
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Includes articles from local, regional, national and international newspapers, magazines, online journals, television and radio broadcasts, newswires and blogs, transcripts, and legal research, as well as federal and state cases and statutes, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions since 1790.
Access World News
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Includes electronic editions of hundreds of large and small U.S. newspapers and titles worldwide.
Source types include print and online-only newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts and videos. Offers coverage at local, regional, national and international levels. Covers a range of disciplines, including political science, journalism, English, history, environmental studies, sociology, economics, education, business, health, and social sciences. Enables researchers to track subjects geographically and over time, analyze trends and statistics.

P E S T L E

OECD iLibrary
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Online portal for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) publications and statistics. Source for internationally comparable statistical, environmental and socio-economic reports and data. OECD works with policy makers, governments and citizens to inform public decision-making.
Also includes content published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), the OECD Development Centre, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).

P E S T L E

Passport GMID: Global Market Information Database
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⦿ Country Profiles and Economy Finance and Trade reports for many countries.
At the top of the homepage, choose the Economy, Finance and Trade tab.Then, on the left, choose Country Report under Choose Analysis, then choose Economy, Finance and Trade under Choose Category, and, finally, choose your country from the list under Choose Geography and click go.
⦿ Economic Barometer.
Click GO in the Dashboards box on the right of the homepage. Scroll down to the block of reports listed uned Economies and click the Load More button to find the Economic Barometer. Click on the box, then choose your country of interest.

Business Enabling Environment (BEE)
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Succeeds the World Bank Group’s Doing Business Project which was discontinued in 2021 because some of the data for 2018 and 2020 had been manipulated. The BEE website has links to several resources on the economic and business climate in many different countries and regions in the world. There are also links to legacy Doing Business reports from 2004 to 2020.

P E S T L E

World Economic Forum
Search your country of interest to find a variety of reports and information.

P E S T L E

ProQuest Statistical Abstracts of the World
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ProQuest Statistical Abstracts of the World aggregates the statistical abstracts of approximately 70 countries and makes the content available through a single-search interface.
These statistical abstracts are generally issued by the national statistical offices of foreign governments and contain country-level data not easily found elsewhere. Global and regional statistical compendia issued by international organizations and research firms are also included.
eHRAF World Cultures
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Searchable full-text ethnographies on hundreds of ethnic, cultural, religious, and national groups worldwide.

globalEDGE
Select "Global Insights" then country or industry.

P E S T L E

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
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Access provided by the Jerome Hall Law Library. A multilingual index to articles and book reviews that appear in legal journals published worldwide. Excludes the U.S., the UK, Canada, and Australia.
The Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals, produced by The American Association of Law Libraries, provides access to legal literature worldwide, covering all forms of foreign (non-Anglo-American) law. This includes comparative law and legal systems, such as Islamic law; socialist law; public and private international law; and transnational commercial law. The data is not limited by country of publication, but rather type of publication. Thus, while publications concerning British and American law are not included, British and American publications concerning foreign law are included.

The types of documents covered include journal articles, congress reports, essay collections, yearbooks, and book reviews.

The database encompasses all languages. Materials in Greek, Cyrillic, and East Asian vernacular are Romanized according to Library of Congress standards. Arabic and Hebrew titles are translated into English or French.

Transparency International
Surveys and reports on corruption at the government and industry levels.

BUS X272 Guide for Global Business Classes

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The PESTLE Framework

Databases Grouped by PESTLE Category Covered

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BUS X272 Guide for Global Business Classes

The PESTLE Framework

Databases Grouped by PESTLE Category Covered

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